Falling Into Nothing
by TsukinArchangel
Summary: The fall wouldn't kill me. The air couldn't suffocate me. A knife wouldn't cut me. I was a candles flame. I didn't deserve to shine brightly. I didn't deserve to live when I had nothing to share it with. I felt the wick burn out, I felt the wax overtake me. "My name is Nico di Angelo, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" I jumped. Nothing beside remained...
1. Falling Into Nothing

**A/N: HI ALL sooo here I am...Archie, yah this is my first Pico fic, I've recently been into it like ALOT and I was inspired to write a fic (maybe if you all like this prologue), thanks to the genius that is Coding and Codeine by Hitome-Chan. :3 HOPE I DO THE PICO FANDOM JUSTICE D;**

**Summary: In a post apocalyptic world, ex-assassin and carrier of the enigmatic K-Virus, Nico Di Angelo of Reyna's Renegade Faction, is found at the base of the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California by an annoyingly charming and mysterious brunette, who after witnessing his attempted suicide (to his greatest chagrin) refuses to leave him alone. Together the boys make a party of two and trek what remains of the world in search of answers, and searching for a way to stop the Olympians, a new breed of super-humans mutated by the effects of D-Day, from completing their ultimate goal, whatever it may be...or perhaps, they aren't the enemy at all?**

**Rated M so I reserve the right to make this as violent, dark, smutty, angsty, etc I want :3 HOPE YOU ENJOY**

**Chapter One: Falling Into Nothing**

_**Nico**_

I remember the day the world ended like it was yesterday. The loud shrieking in my head, a horrible incessant agony, a stabbing unstoppable pain like a thousand shards of glass entering me. I remember watching the sky break into a thousand pieces-the residual fear I felt when I saw that...oh god_, dio misericordioso_, it was awful. How I had wanted to cry, to hang onto my family, to be able to hide in my fathers arms for one last time. But I couldn't, I was a Di Angelo, Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades Di Angelo, and Di Angelo's never showed weakness, never showed how much they were hurting, never showed their fear, not even to the ones they loved the most, especially not them. I remembered the gut wrenching nausea that hit me as gravity suddenly reversed itself. The ground cracking like the sky, chunks lifting to meet it. I didn't know where it was I was supposed to be looking. Up or down. Left or right. Direction was meaningless in that moment.

I would later learn that the Earth's electromagnetic field was broken that day.

That the Aurora shined brighter than ever before.

One more time.

One last glorious time, it shined on the Earth, all of it, from pole to pole for all to see, shrouded in a beautiful rainbow. But no one could appreciate it. No one stopped to stare in awe. No, humans had better things to worry about. They had to survive. They had to figure out what the heck had happened. They had to run from all the new horrors unleashed on them...on _us_. The Golems, artificial lifeforms with intelligences of varying degree's who served those infected by the K-Virus, the Olympians, those infected, the Animate, organic life with no soul, no will of there own, the closest thing to dead you can get without actually being there. Not to mention the other Renegades, the ones against your faction, each side right in its own way, each side trying to survive, trying to find food, water, shelter, a piece of the earth stable enough to withstand life for at least a day.

Every moment was harder than the last. Everyday we grew closer and closer to extinction. Every single godforsaken day I wished for a way out. I think that's how I ended up on the roof of the old El Capitan theatre. I think that's why, but really I just didn't know anymore. I stood, looking out on what used to be Hollywood, but was now just a street. A name. A long forgotten sign. What did I think I would accomplish from this? Did I think that the borderline toxic outside air would clear my head? Sure. That was definitely the reason why I was standing at the edge of a roof wondering if the fall would kill me. I sighed, my eyes taking in the destruction around me, overturned cars, shattered asphalt, jagged spikes of earth jutting from sides of buildings, tall skyscrapers reduced to nothing, all of man's greatest accomplishments gone in flash. Reduced to rubble. To nothing. Made you realize just how un-important we all were. I would have laughed if I could remember how. Or maybe what I really wanted was to cry.

I remembered a poem that fit this scene, _Ozymandias, _I think. Written by Mary Shelley's husband Percy. But anyway one line stood out in my mind at that moment. One quote on a pedastal of a broken statue in the middle of the desert a quote that spoke of the intense irony of existance.

"_My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: _

_Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"_

But there was nothing there. Nothing left. Wasn't that how the next line went? Wasn't it...

_Nothing beside remains._

I can't really say it's surprising that the husband of the lady who wrote _Frankstein_ wrote a poem about the insignificance of existance, I probably would have ended up doing something similiar if I had been in his position, hell I still might. We probably could've been friends, Percy and I.

But that didnt matter now did it.

I closed my eyes and for a moment I could see the city for what it had been, a bustling center of the entertainment industry, sunny, warm, inviting, always full of people, always having some party or club you could go to. For a moment I remembered. For a moment I wasn't in the world that seemed to be forever overcast, to be shrouded in a thin layer of gray, as if everything was slowly being leeched of its color and we were just the last annoying specks that resisted our destinies. I opened my eyes again, people used to say I looked like my mom, I had her face, a soft non angular thing, femimine in nature, lacking the masculine jaw my father had, giving me a seemingly innocent appearance; we shared the same smile when I would really smile, the same eye shape, the same lips, but my nose...that I got from my dad, and my pale skin, and my ears, and my wavy black hair, and my coal black eyes, the slim but deadly build that held our hidden strength. I was my parents child, anyone who saw us together would be able to tell. I sighed. Thoughts like that always brought my mind back to the reason I was standing here.

I was wondering if the fall would kill me.

Probably not.

Not much could kill me anymore.

See...I had the K-Virus.

And that, amongst other things, made me virtually immortal.

A single tear fell down my face and I breathed in the sulfur, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, whatever the hell else was in it infested air. Ha. Looked like I still remembered how to cry. Not much good it would do me now, all I had left was myself. All my family was gone, the few people I could consider friends dead, all that was left was a base need to survive and even that was dwindling away to nothing. Fizzing slowly out like a candle's flame drowning in its wax, waiting for either the wick or the now liquid substance to snuff it out. That was me, the candle flame. I had no reason left to live, no reason left to try.

I dropped my mask.

I closed my eyes.

I breathed and I felt the burn it caused, a sweet, sweet thing that told me I was alive.

The fall wouldn't kill me.

The air couldn't suffocate me.

A knife wouldn't cut me.

I was a candles flame. I didn't deserve to shine brightly.I didn't deserve to live when I had nothing to share it with. I felt the wick burn out, I felt the wax overtake me.

"_My name is Nico Di Angelo, king of kings: _

_Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" _

I jumped.

_ Nothing beside remained._

**A/N: And thus ends the prologue. Did you like? Do you want more? Please review and tell me what you think :3 it is greatly appreciated. Also if anyone know's like legit Italian and can correct my crummy magical google translate version I'd greatly appreciate it, heck I'd appreciate it if someone would Beta this in general lol. ANYWAY HOPE YOU LIKED IT AND YEAH! TELL ME IF I SHOULD CONTIUE! Oh yeah so in case you didnt know that poem Ozymandias is real and is by Percy Shelley...kinda ironic lol considering who's gonna b Nico's love but yeah I DIDNT WRITE THAT POEM :3 Look it up its great!**

**-Archie~**

**P.S: If Hitome-Chan somehow miraculously reads this and likes it like OMG thanks cause dude you're amazing I ASPIRE TO BE AT YOUR LEVEL SOMEDAY!**


	2. Falling

**Chapter Two: Falling**

_**Percy**_

"Yo Jackson! Get your ass over here! You gotta see this!"

"What, what?" I yelled back, just a little annoyed. Grover knew I hated small, enclosed, tight, _just-waiting-to-squish-you_ spaces, I mean heck isn't it obvious, they're freaking death traps waiting to happen! Okay so granted I wasn't _always_ this claustrophobic, not that _I_ am, I mean it's more of an intense dislike that ends with me curled up in a ball on the floor but like dude, that's just a _small _ minute _detail. _It doesn't matter _that_ much, right? It's just a measly little fact bout 'lil ol' me, so it doesnt matter. Right? _Right?_

Anyway, if it wasn't for that one incident with a Concrete Golem, later dubbed the Great Santa Monica Debacle of Third Street Promenade, I would _totally_ be okay with following Grover up the steep rise of _really_ unstable looking rubble into the dark shadowy corner where he was calling me from...

Okay...on second thought maybe I wouldn't be. I just realized how _incredibly_ shady that entire sentence sounded. Like _"OMG, THEY'RE TOTALLY ABOUT TO DO IT IN THE CORNER!" _shady. I mean he wants to show me something, and it's in a shadowy area...yah no, I'm gonna stop that train of thought _now_, it's _beyond_ wrong, the dudes like a brother to me! Not that I would be opposed to doing it with another dude, or would like judge you for doing that either, like whatever floats your boat, ya know? But like he's _Grover_, I've known him since I was like _five_, and we even survived the _apocalypse_ together! Like hell I'm gonna tap that! It would be beyond awkward.

So yah the great Debacle, I won't bore you with the details just know that it involved books, something I barely tolerate on a good day, an elevator, which I might mention is like the epitome of small and tight...or maybe that would be an ass...OKAY! TURNING OFF MY BRAIN NOW! This is what I get for going down that entire implied butt sex with Grover tirade, now my head is stuck in the gutter. I apologize in advance if anything else dirty slips...ha...ha...out. I'll try and keep the vulgarity (is that a word?) to a minimum.

Okay so yah! Elevator, books, Golem, knives (I never looked at chopped liver again after that, almost went vegan to repent...course that failed miserably, IMA MAN! I GOTTA HAVE MAH MEAT!), and _thank god_, one handy pyro-maniac with a flame-thrower...yah it wasn't pretty for the Golem...or really for _anyone_, but hey I got out alive, and I had new found respect (and _I_ think healthy fear) of fire.

I started climbing the debris, picking my way up in a way that I hoped was at least _slightly_ as collected as Grover's (the kid might as well have been a mountain goat with how fast he scaled these things) testing each step, avoiding holes, and old steel beams, slipping and sliding my way up to the top. God it was hell. I chanced a glance behind me. Ooooh shit, that was high. Did I mention I hated heights too? Like that had _always _been an issue with me, I just felt more comfortable on the ground or in the water, actually mainly the water now that I think of it, that's probably why I took up surfing..._and _swimming, _and_ water polo, _and_ just about any other aquatic sport you could think of; I'd do just about anything for an excuse to be able to be in the water. Like it was bad. Real bad, so bad that I got the nickname Merman from being pretty much a fish for two thirds of the day. My mom, bless her soul, she...she had been okay with it cause it gave me a reason to do well in school. I couldn't be on any of the teams unless I had a 2.0 grade point average, so I always found time to study. I liked to have a little wiggle room so I always strived for at least 2.5, heck before the world ended I had finally gotten it up to a 3.0 thanks to my old girlfriend Annabeth.

Now that girl...she was a genius. I wonder what ever happened to her, I don't think she's dead, she was much to smart for that. I mean if even _I _somehow managed to survive she most definitely did. There was no way she couldn't have. But that didn't matter now. School doesn't do much good when you're just trying to survive and worrying over old friends was counter productive. I still had Grover and that was just going to have to be enough, if fate allows we'll meet each other again.

I was starting to get the feeling that Grover just wanted to kill me today, the whole asking me to overcome two of my biggest fears in one day was a bit much... Whatever was up there better be good, like _godly _good.

"Whoa," I breathed when I reached the top, we were in a fallen skyscraper and even with it's now almost horizontal state we were still a good two hundred feet in the air, like holy hell, hyperventilation status much? But even still you couldn't not love the view, it was spectacular even with the old city scape utterly destroyed. Though...if I were being totally honest, I'd tell you that I actually thought it was better. More peaceful, you know?

Finally after a few moments of staring I looked down and saw what Grover had called me up for, feeling a grin slowly etch its way across my face, my fears temporarily forgotten. "Dude this is the jackpot."

"I know right, Chiron is gonna wanna hear 'bout this," Grover said slinging an arm over my shoulder, his amber eyes shining in anticipation.

"You sure it's Adamantium?" I asked.

"Hell yeah man, I already scanned it before I called you up here, I know how much you hate heights dude." Grover tapped the scanner on his wrist, a 3D image popping up as he did so. I quickly read the stats and nodded, everything about the rock's composition matched, the ratio of diamond, titanium, radiation levels, carbon, gold and plain old rock were all standard. I may not have looked it, most people thought I was just some kinda dim surfer dude, it really annoyed me when people assumed that, but when it came to geology and marine bio, I always excelled. Like a lot. Like to the point where _I_ was able to tutor _Annabeth_ instead of the other way around. It was one of the few times I actually felt smart. So anyway, when it came to Adamantium patrols I was your guy.

"Sweet," I adjusted the air purifier and goggles on my face, then checked to see how much more power they had. Crap. A little over an hour. "Okay, call Leo and Jason over, tell them we found the motherload, we're gonna need the extra muscle if we wanna transport any of this before we're breathing acid."

"Got it man, you get down there and start gettin' those rocks gathered 'kay?"

I nodded and grinned at my fellow partner in crime before raising my hand and giving him our secret handshake. It was nice that Grover and I survived together, I don't know what I would have done if not for the awkwardly built, chill, red-brown haired brunette in front of me. Probably something stupid and regrettable.

We smiled and Grover turned to send a message to the other two in our patrol. "Hey Firebug and Lightninglad, we found the jackpot..." I tuned the rest out and stared at the gorge before me. Well shit, that was high. Now I'm just hypothesizing here but most likely, due to the way tectonic plates had moved, it made a deeper depression in the earth on this side than the other. It's probably why there was so much Adamantium right here instead of anywhere else.

I sighed and gulped, this side was steep as well, steeper than the one I had just climbed but virtually smooth, so getting down would be easy, just slide; the black full body leotard looking things we wore only looked like they would be ripped going down, but it was in fact created to be flexible _and_ strong enough to withstand any cutting from just about anything but Andamantium or diamond. The only thing you had to worry about was the impact, it may protect you from cuts but it still hurt like a bitch to be shot at point blank range in the chest. Trust me _not_ a fun experience.

Grumbling to myself I settled on my butt and pushed off, sliding down the decline a lot faster than I would have expected. Hey, never said I was good at geometry, that sin cosine shit went right over my head, that would have been Annabeth's field.

Landing in a heap on the bottom of the depression I chanced a glance upwards, fixing my eyes on the top. Shit. It was definitely too steep to get back up without rock climbing tools.

"Yo! Grover! Dude! Don't come down here! You can't get back up!" I shouted up at him, my voice echoing painfully off of the rock around me. Grover turned and I think he nodded but it was hard to tell and I didn't want to waste any of my battery life using the binocular feature on my goggles just to make sure he understood. I just had to hope he did. Turning I grabbed a few of the precious stones I had slid down here for and began to look for a way out. From where I stood it looked like I was going to have to try going around, but the question was: Should I go left or right? Left would have been the most obvious choice since that would get me back to camp faster, but that would be a waste of time. Probably. Grover and I had scoured that side already and if there had been an opening we would have seen it and _totally_ avoided going through that whole rock climbing adventure.

Great, that left right, the un-mapped territory.

"I'm gonna go try and find a way out!" I yelled up at Grover, "You head back to camp and gather a rescue party in case I can't get out!" Grover peered over the edge at me and I saw his head bob up and down slightly in response before he turned and dashed down the other side of the mountain of debris.

Okay. Let's get moving.

I quickly shrugged off my pack and placed as many of the shining bronze rocks I could inside of it, taking out my gun and strapping it to my belt instead. Now I wished I had brought some supplies with me. Never again shall I leave without the most basic essentials, you know, food, rope, extra batteries, first aid kits etc. I wouldn't have been so worried about the situation I was in otherwise. But oh well, what's done is done, I just had to hope I could find my way out within the hour. If not...well...things would start to get _really _interesting. Fatally so. I tried to suppress the shiver that ran down my spine as I thought of the state those who didn't have a mask on for more than five minutes ended up in.

Let's just say it's not pretty, and agree to never bring the topic up again.

Replacing my bag on my back I began heading down the path I had chosen, hopefully there would be a less steep incline that I could climb out of without having to travel too far down. I was already going to have to double back as it was. I checked my battery life, fifty-five minutes, that...that was really worrisome. The batteries were solar powered, which you might think _"Great! You can charge your battery anywhere at any time!" _but no. That's not how it worked. See the battery could be recharged, and relatively quickly too, but the problem was, you couldn't be using it and charge at the same time. Call it a design flaw, or a prototype, but until Chiron comes out with an updated version of the system, we were stuck having to return to base every three hours or lugging around extra batteries. So you can't be too surprised that I was just a _tiny_ bit anxious. If you do the math fifty five minutes to backtrack over two hours of walking didn't really sound like good odds and I'd really prefer _not_ having liquefied lungs.

I sped up my pace to a steady jog, glancing to my left every few seconds, but found no immediate exit. After five minutes of even pacing, I was A) Beginning to get whiplash from turning my neck so often and B) Really starting to worry, I was down to fifty minutes of battery life, if I spent too much more time looking for an exit I might as well give up, I'd never make it back to camp in time. My heart lodged itself in my throat, thoughts wandering to the exposed. Of there decrepit forms. Mushy insides, decayed and wrinkled skin, brittle to the touch like fragile sand paper, eyes sunken in and shriveled up like raisins. Oh god. Please don't let that happen to me. It totally wasn't helping that almost every corner had at least one such body on it. I shivered, some of them looked fairly new from the looks of it.

You couldn't really be surprised by that fact, especially not now. I mean, what did you expect? It's not like there where anymore sanitation workers, or coroners, or anything else like that. The world had ended for everyone at the same time the same moment, there wasn't anytime for mass bonfires to get rid of the bodies, and there isn't enough supplies to do so now, so...they just stayed there. Rotting away. Waiting to become nothing, or to come back as an Animate.

I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone.

I sighed, what I wouldn't give to be playing so Call of Duty Zombies right now, or maybe Halo 4...though heck, what did I need a console for, my life was C.O.D now. Just without the comfort of knowing that if I lose you still can try again. God, I wish this was all just a dream, a horrible, awful, traumatizing nightmare, one that would leave me talking to Annabeth and wondering what the hell was wrong with me, but I knew that wasn't the case. Some of the things I'd seen...the things I had done...there was just no way for me to imagine them. I wasn't _that_ sick to come up with that.

I kept going, and as I did so things became less and less familiar. See I had never lived in L.A., I grew up in New York, Queens to be exact, and had only been to this city a few times in my life, once for swim team championships, and twice to visit my biological dad, Poseidon Jackson, at his summer villa in Malibu. During all three occasions I had never ventured farther than Culver City, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, so this side of town was totally unknown to me. None of the street names were ringing any bells for me and honestly, that was probably a bad sign considering that meant I didn't know how to connect from point A to point B. My ADHD made it really hard to focus on any one thing for too long and trying to remember street names just wasn't gonna get any head time today...god sorry that sounded wrong. Just great, another set of hell to worry about.

I rounded another corner and stopped, jumping into the shadows as quickly and quietly as I could, silently cursing my luck. Of course I'd get stuck with the most problems during dire circumstances. Like hello, I was Perseus fucking Jackson, of course they'd wanna get some from a bad ass like me... Okay so lies, I really wasn't that important but just for the sake of my sanity I'll say that's the case. That and pretending I was the protagonist in a video game just made everything easier. If I believed it wasn't real then I could do what I needed to in order to survive.

Kill if I had to.

In front of me was a wall of Animate. Gross, diseased, rotten from the inside out. Corpses that should have just been left in peace but have now been called for some dark purpose. The Animate shuffled along, groaning in agony as their old bones were forced to work again. Shriveled eyes lolled from sockets, arms dropped off their owners, legs blew away to dust. Oh god and the _smell_. I resisted the urge to barf. The scene was sick. Twisted. Demonic. I fought down my temper. _Just a game, just a game, just a game_. I told myself._ It's a recon mission and with only forty minutes left of air you watch to see what the Animate are doing. Those are your new orders. Orders you will follow to the end._

I crouched down and pressed myself to the wall, blending in with the darkness around me thanks to my outfit and stared at the scene. The Animated were moving forward, towards some exit in the side of the wall that was moving in the opposite direction of me. I smirked. Bingo! My ticket out! Or...shit no. There was like fifty of them and uhm lets see, one of me with only ten bullets with me, there was no way I could get them all unless I was some gun god, which unfortunately I was not. FUCK! I just noticed something else, something that made me stand up and risk sending Grover a message.

The Animate, were headed in the direction I was heading. That meant camp, that meant trouble, that meant moving out ASAP. We didn't have resources to spare trying to get rid of these nuisances. We had to keep our bullets for recon and boundary skirmishes with other Renegade groups in the area.

Silently I tapped the com-link on my wrist and called Grover. Slowly a video image of him fizzled into view in my goggle lens and I knew it connected. I was almost worried I was too far from camp to get a signal.

"Yo dude, what's up, how much air you got left?" Grover asked a tad frantically. I guess he figured I'd only message him if I was on my last legs...which I kinda was, but not as bad as he probably was thinking I was. Wow. That probably made little to no sense but I think it did so I'm going to leave it.

"Thirty nine minutes, and dude look," I whispered, turning on my frontal video feed, "A whole freaking army of Animate headed in the direction of camp. You gotta go tell Chiron."

"Whoa man, you sure that's headed our way?" A new voice asked. Tall blonde and annoying? Jason.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes I'm sure." I growled out. "I'm not an idiot I can read a map."

"Okay, okay man, just saying, no need to get worked up if you weren't." He put up his hands in a placating gesture and I just made a face. Jason was one of those blonde guys who fit the one hundred percent surfer dude stereotype that people would try to lump me in with; like he was the kid who would say things like_ "gnarly" _and _"hang ten" and _had a bit of a leader complex. He refused to take advice or orders from others and always wanted to be in charge, it's why he hated going on patrols with me cause, let's face it, I was more qualified to make decisions than he was in this instance...or really any instance really.

"Anyway I'm gonna head a little farther down, see if I can find a way around them where I can cut 'em off, but yeah hurry your asses up and get to camp."

"Aye, aye Captain," The three other boys grumbled.

I grinned. "Good." Then shut off the link, didn't need to lose any more battery life on that.

Taking a breath, I readjusted my back on my shoulders and kept moving, flitting in the shadows, giving the Animate a large berth God, how I wish I had just tried to plow on through the corpses, I had, had a knife with me at the time; when I ran out of bullets I could've switched to that. But that's not what I did. I went around them, taking the tactical retreat. And closer to the meeting that would change my life forever.

I say I wish I could change that moment.

It's a lie.

I wouldn't choose anything different if it meant even a minute with Nico, but that's neither here nor there. Like I say, what's done is done, the past is set in stone, all that's left to change is the future. And that's where I'll put my efforts.

Finally I put enough distance between me and the Animate but that didn't matter now. I only had thirty minutes of air left. That damn call had drained more battery life then I expected. There was no way I was going to make it back to camp in time. I choked back a sob and blinked tears out my eyes. I'm not usually the emotional type, but hey, thinking that I was on my death bed warranted just a few stronger emotions than I would usually feel.

Well if I was going to die, I wanted to die with a smile on my face. I would find some secluded place where I could rot in peace and maybe Grover would find me and give me a proper funeral. I mean...a...a guy could hope right?

I glanced up at the sign next to me, Hollywood Blvd, that name sounded familiar. I walked to the sidewalk and felt myself grin. Ah, of course, this was the street with all the stars on it. I looked to my left, that meant that those abandoned buildings over there where the Chinese Mann and Kodak Theatres, and the building in disrepair next to me was the El Capitan. I stepped back a few steps to the middle of the sidewalk and looked up. I had always wanted to come down this way with my dad, you know cause it's a tourist spot, and to well, bond with my old man, but he never would. He thought it was a waste of time, that seeing some buildings, or some movie at one of these specific theatres was stupid, he'd just take me to one closer, like the Archlight. I scoffed, that really wasn't all that closer than here.

The memory filled me with a sense of melancholy my smile taking on a slightly sadder quality, but I quickly pushed it aside. The memory was good but it wasn't good enough. I was going to die one hundred percent happy. I'd die with thoughts of Annabeth, and surfing, and video games, and Grover, and my mom and step dad on my mind. All the happy times, all the moments before...this.

I stared up at the building in front of me. Half the front face was gone, sunken in and lopsided, strewn about as rubble on the ground, if power still went through the city, I could imagine the lights flickering eerily in the overcast light. Sad looking tinsels fluttered in the air uselessly, once a bright vibrant green, now a muted dirty color, a color perverted by the air and earth around it. I sighed, and smiled to myself, even in its sad broken state the building was still beautiful. Of course that might have just been because I had never _really_ seen it in front of me before, but I'm pretty sure I had a good idea from the pictures I'd seen.

An old newspaper rustled by, taken hold by the wind, and it swayed in the air, trying to break free of its bindings, trying to leave this place behind. Well good for you little paper, at least someone can go somewhere. Smiling sadly I spun where I was, and felt a laugh bubble within me. Twenty more minutes, twenty more minutes of sad, sad, joy. Twenty minutes left of life, and then five minutes of liquefying hell. Maybe I should just shoot myself before then. Maybe that would be better than the torture about to befall me. I gripped the gun strapped at my waist subconsciously I'd deal with that when I'd get there.

Suddenly, I heard something thump to the ground in front of me and I stopped my spinning. What the hell? I crept closer to the sound and looked down. A mask. A purifying mask, different model, less advanced then my own, but definitely one of the breathing apparatus's that all the Renegade's had in common. I picked it up. This one was from Reyna's gang of misfits, but what would one of them be doing way out here? Was she looking for a fight? If so, why would the kid drop his mask, they needed that to survive.

Quickly I backed away from the building, mask still in hand, and looked up. On the roof of the building, a good one hundred feet in the air stood a figure, a boy I think, standing precariously on the edge. What was he doing up there? Suicide?

"Hey!" I shouted up at the kid. "Hey! Get down from there! I've got your mask!"

The kid didn't hear me or just didn't care, but I got no response.

"Shit," I mumbled to myself and turning on the binocular feature on my goggles. Almost immediately my vision was engulfed by the view of a short black haired teen, wearing nothing but a black jacket, a middle gray shirt with a black skull on it, and loose black pants. Strapped to his side was a medium sized blade, in a black sheath that made the boys already pale appearance seem even paler. Almost sickly.

The boy's eyes were trained ahead, but even from my angle I could see the wisdom in them. The hurt. The pain. The look of a man vulnerable in there last moments, when they don't think no one's looking. I gulped, I had a horrible feeling I knew what was going to happen next.

"Kid!" I shouted again. "Don't jump!"

He jumped.

The boy sailed through the air, for a moment looking like he was flying, suspended in animation, but then gravity took over and he quickly plummeted down. I stood shocked and transfixed in horror as he fell. He landed with a bone crunching thump. Oh my god. I just saw someone kill themselves. And I'd done nothing.

_ Splat! _The sound of flesh against solid rock jarred me from my stupor and I ran over to where the kid lay.

"Hey kid, wake up, are you okay?" I whispered turning him over on his back. The boy looked even younger and peaceful laying like this, skin unblemished...without a trace of blood or bruise...skin still faintly warm to the-wait what? I made a face and looked closely. Yeah. Nothing was wrong. The kid looked just the same as he had when he fell down, which...was impossible. A fall like that should have killed him. Broken his bones. Mangled his brains. Crushed his lungs. But he looked A-Okay.

I gulped and rested to fingers on his neck, searching for a pulse. _B-Bmp! B-Bmp! B-Bmp! _He was alive! He wasn't dead...he was...staring up at me.

"Hey dude," I said. "Sup?"

**A/N: Soooo yeah whatcha think? Sorry if there are any grammar errors, I don't have a beta sooo yah but I hope you enjoy it. So tell me what you think? Do you like Percy's POV? I've been told people think it's too OOC? What do you think? Too much? Or what...I was kinda trying to go for how he was in the original books when he was first person instead of third but yeah...and I wanted a contrast between Nico's voice and Percy's but...yeah..Soooo... Should i Switch back and forth between the two or just stick with Nico's? Or better yet is this even any good to you people? Also should this be called_ Falling Into Nothing_ or _Ozymandias_? I'm not sure which title works more, tell me what you think :3. Also my bid for an Italian speaker is open...I'LL NEED YOU! lol anyway PLEASE READ AND REVIEW FOLLOW FAV ETC...thanks for stopping by :3**

**-Archie~**


	3. Bleeding

_A/N: Italian Translations at the end. Enjoy. Read, Review, Share, critique :3 Fav, Follow! THANKS!_

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**Chapter Three: Bleeding**

_**Nico**_

I felt the air rush around me; crisp, cold; unforgiving, buffering me, strong fingers that held me in its vice grip, suspending me in the sky, and for a moment I could forget everything, I could believe that I was flying, that I was sleeping, that none of my problems were actually that bad, or even existed, nothing remained in the dark. But then the dream ended and gravity took over, its strong fist knocking me downward, pulling me by my invisible chain; like a magnet I was attracted to the earth. It was a fitting marriage, the ground and I, we were both hard and cold, one and the same.

My stomach jumped to my throat, the feeling of gravity taking hold of my senses, the feeling of free fall permeating my cells. Faster and faster I plummeted, eyes squeezed shut, refusing to see what lay before me. I didn't need them to tell me what was coming, I already knew from my time on the roof. I had known what would happen the moment I jumped. I knew that the fall _should_ kill me. I knew that the fall _wouldn't_ kill me and I also knew I only had about two more seconds before my body would make that bone shattering kiss that for anyone else would end in death.

I felt my hair whip across my face. I felt the sting of wind against my pale cheeks, the burn of the acidic air in my lungs, its caress on my exposed neck and hands, the comforting weight of my blade by my side. It was the longest two seconds of my life, a sickening anticipation that was slowly overtaken by an uncharacteristic bout of peace. I could almost smile, was this the calm before the storm? The feeling of relief and acceptance that overcame those about to die? When they knew there was nothing they could do to stop their fate. That it was inevitable.

If so I envied those people to no end.

Time was up. The seconds couldn't last forever. My body hit the ground. I felt the impact like a thousand trucks rammed into me. I felt the bone cracking force. The power to crush bodies into flat sheets of muscle and goo. I felt the air rush from my lips, the sharp needle pain that caught my breath. I wanted to scream. My vision turned red with agony, I could feel my organs moving to places they shouldn't be, stinging fissures where bone screamed to be reduced to dust but didn't. The psychosomatic snaps resonated through me, my mind expecting to be broken, not used to the fact that it could not break. Not by any such orthodox means. Not anymore.

Dazed, I waited for the pain to subside, my eyes squeezed shut, my breathing barely there, shallow, turned weak from the pain radiating through my chest. It hurt too much to try and do anything more. But it was a sweet pain. A deserved pain. A pain that would slowly let me atone for my sins. If they would allow me. _Oh Bianca, mia sorella. Padre, mi dispiace non ho potuto proteggerla. Bianca, mi dispiace. _I cried out for forgiveness. I begged for repentance. I wished for my family to understand. I couldn't do anything to save her. I watched her lose her sanity, so slowly, so painstakingly slowly; it was awful to watch, but don't they see, I was afflicted after her, I got the virus too, now all I had was the pain, I'd do whatever I could to be close to them again.

If I could give myself the illusion of death, to drop myself at their doorstep, maybe they'd be able to call to me. Maybe they could give me some sort of sign. Maybe then they would forgive me.

Slowly my senses came back in full swing, the pain fading away to nothing but a dull ache, the rest of the synapses in my brain finally reconnecting, my other feelings having been dulled by the overwhelming pain. The fiery agony was replaced by the almost expected ache of toxic air in my lungs. Frigid air cooled my fevered flesh, the soft whisper of wind a welcome comfort, the awkward jab at my side from the uneven ground filling me with annoyance. Of course it was nothing bothersome enough to make me actually _move_. I really had no desire to leave this spot. Maybe I could starve to death. Die of dehydration. _Something_ had to work. Even with the Adamantium running through my veins it only dulled the effects of the virus, not get rid of it. It was a cross I had to bear, a burden I could not be rid of, a curse. One that was deserving.

Footsteps. That was the first foreign sound I heard, frantic footsteps, then an anxious voice. "Hey kid, wake up, you okay?" Low and masculine; a baritone, I shivered ever so slightly, it had been so long since I had a human companion, and I felt my bottom half twitch to life against my will. _Just go away _I willed...though whether that was directed to the growing problem in my pants or the boy I wasn't sure, I'd like to think it was the latter.

Someone, probably the man whose voice it belonged to, flipped me over, and I heard him gasp inwardly to himself, probably not even aware of the sound coming out of his mouth. I almost smirked, it probably wasn't every day that you'd find a boy dropping from a four story building and come away from it completely unharmed, but unfortunately that was my life, a fact I had to live with for better or for worse.

Fingers pressed against my neck, my steady pulse rocking underneath them and I fought the urge to frown. This guy didn't know when to leave well enough alone. He couldn't possibly be one of Reyna's men, I didn't recognize the voice, and I had taken it upon myself to memorize every single one of them, all the way down to the smallest inflection. So why the heck would he be trying to help me? _Maybe he's not_, I realized, my morbid brain doing what it does so well, _Maybe he's checking if you're alive just to kill you himself. You know you'd do the same. _

My eyes opened and for a moment everything was too bright, an ironic fact considering the overcast sky, and I blinked back a sudden well of tears. The boy was still focused on the pulse in my neck and hadn't noticed that I was conscious yet. For an instant I stared at him, taking in what I could of his appearance, which, granted. wasn't much, just that he wore the all black tight form fitting jumpsuit of Chiron's ilk, his mouth and nose obscured by his mask, the rest of his face taken up by his goggles and form fitting hood that connected to the suit and surrounded his neck, ears, and hair. The only things about his face I could identify for sure were the few wisps of straight brown locks that showed through the lip of the hood, and his lively sea green colored eyes, which were currently trained on my neck and laced with concern. I scoffed. Someone was a good actor. The man's gaze shifted when he heard the sound; I tensed and blinked up at him, he was looking at me.

"Hey dude," he said. "Sup?"

For a moment I didn't move, just kind of laid there in stunned silence, like a kid who was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar; why I was so surprised at getting caught I would never know but that was the case. Our gazes locked and neither of us moved, neither of us breathed, waiting to see what the other would do. I felt a sad smirk tug at the corner of my lip as the tension built, a small barely noticeable twitch at the corner of my mouth that only those who knew me_, really_ knew me, would be able to notice. It was sad how easy it was to decide. To instantly fall into the mindset that had kept me alive for the past four years. The head of an assassin. It's what I did best.

My eyes steeled and quick as lightning I jumped up, knocking the mans legs out from underneath where he crouched, an already vulnerable position, and straddled his hips, my blade drawn and pressed against his throat.

"_Non ti muovere._ I wouldn't move if I were you," I growled, menacingly in my slightly accented English my wavy black hair flying across my face. I had never fully been able to get rid of the Italian inflection that spoke of my heritage even after all these years and it would still come out on occasion, more often than not. I glared hard at the man underneath me. "This is an Adamantium blade, it'll cut through your little suit like paper."

To my surprise the man grinned and started laughing.

I blinked, that had caught me off guard and I loosened my grip slightly, my brow scrunching in confusion. I had expected a struggle or tears or even maybe some begging, not this seemingly jovial reaction. Did the guy have a death wish? If he did I guess I couldn't really judge him considering what _I _had just done. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," He grinned still laughing, "Just, dude, I have a gun." I heard it click by my head and I quickly glanced in the direction of the sound, it was some sort of fancy pistol. I huffed and withdrew my blade; even if the bullet wouldn't break skin, I really wasn't in the mood for the head ache it was cause. How the heck had I missed the gun anyway? I was supposed to be better than that.

"So, you gonna get off me now?"

"No," I said with a glare but got off anyway.

The man gave a boyish smirk. "That looks like a yes to me."

"Shut up." My gaze intensified.

"Kid, is that all you know how to do? Glare?" He asked his voice just dripping with barely hidden amusement.

"I'm not a _kid,_" I growled, temper flaring. I hated being compared to a child, I've always been small for my age and my face never helped me look any older. My mother thought I'd grow out of it, but I've yet to see that happen. "I'm seventeen."

His eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding, you look like your twelve, _maybe_ fifteen if you're imaginative." He propped himself up on his arms and looked at me.

"Why would I be joking, the world's ended, what-," I let out a exasperated breath, "Wait, why am I even explaining this to you?"

He grinned. "Dude, because I'm a fucking boss."

"Is that the only word you know?_ 'Dude'_?"

"Nope." He grinned. Did anything phase this guy?

I stood up. "Okay then _boss,_" I said, voice dripping with sarcasm and venom, dusting myself off, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. "Goodbye. Go and run back to Chiron and I'll get on with my life." I started walking away.

I heard the guy scramble after me. "Hey du-, man, wait up! You forgot your mask!"

"Don't need it," I grumbled in reply, not turning around or slowing down. This male really needed to learn when to quit.

He caught up with me and thrust the mask in my face. "Kid, of course you need it, everyone does, I don't want to have to drag away your corpse."

I rested a hand on my temple and turned to face him, glare already in place, barely containing my surprise at realizing just how much taller the man was than me. Now that he wasn't sitting it was obvious and he made my already short height of five-eight seem even shorter than normal. I scowled, everything about this male was pushing my buttons the wrong way. Or maybe it was the right way and I really just wanted to ignore it and say it was in fact the wrong way. "You saw me jump from a four story building and the thing you worry about is whether or not my lungs are going to pop? Mind your own business, do I _look_ like I'm about to die?"

"Well man, you're hard to please."

"I just don't like talking to people."

"Well take the mask."

"Keep it, I don't need it."

"Take it."

"Go away."

"Take it."

"No."

"You're really anti-social aren't you?" I could feel the smirk in his words.

"You're really annoying."

"Immature."

"Rude."

"Obnoxious."

I shot him another one of my patented glares, my face was going to get stuck like that if I kept talking to him. "Give me the mask and shut up."

The man handed me the mask and I felt the smug metaphorical scent of victory rolling off of him. "The name's Percy by the way. You?"

"Nico," I said stuffing the mask in my pocket, feeling a slightly demented satisfaction at the irritated look he gave me. I don't know why I decided to tell him my real name. It just slipped out before I could think better of it. He had a very disarming personality, you couldn't help but grudgingly like him. "I said _'give it to me' _not that I was gonna wear it." I smirked at the boy next to me.

"Fine ki-, Nico, don't expect me to move your corpse off the street."

I thought of my sister and turned away, my mood darkening dramatically. I hadn't even realized it had improved. My emotions were currently out of my control and I didn't like that feeling. I didn't like that Percy had that effect on me. "You won't have to worry about that. I'm not going to die. _Non posso_."

Percy shot me a questioning glance and I ignored it, deciding instead to pretend he wasn't there, didn't exist. My speed increased, and I vaulted over crumbling walls and holes with ease. It wasn't so bad being small, it gave me certain advantages over the terrain like the fact that I was lithe, fast and stealthy, all of which at one time or another had proved valuable assets in my survival. I glanced behind me; Percy was still following, and keeping up surprisingly well; despite his size he was actually pretty silent on his feet. I guess you'd have to be if you were still around now.

It was something you had to have or learn quickly.

Death came quickly to those who couldn't adapt.

"So, where are you going huh? Back to Reyna?" Percy asked after an indeterminable amount of time.

"No. You'd be dead if I was still with her." It was true. What guy in their right mind wouldn't kill an enemy faction member, especially if said person was being an annoying stalker. It was funny that we didn't ask how the both of us knew what faction we belonged to. Or in my case, used to be with.

He seemed to consider that for a moment. "So...where're you going?"

"I don't know. Anywhere. It doesn't matter." I paused, looking at the wall of debris in front of me. It looked haphazard and unstable, not worth the risk of climbing over, I didn't need to get trapped underground for the rest of my life. That definitely wouldn't be fun. I turned and went down an alley way; after a moment Percy followed.

"So you flew the coop huh? Goin' Solo?" Percy pressed.

"What's it matter?" I ducked under a low hanging rail and climbed over an over turned trash can. The alley smelled strongly of rot and decay; I didn't look to find the source, I had a pretty good idea what I'd find.

"Dude, you're gonna get yourself killed, you know how unsafe that is?" _Dude._ There was that word again. I began to notice that he used it when he felt he had to emphasize a point, though why he chose _that_ one I had no idea, in my opinion it just made his point less valid.

"It's not your problem."

"Yes it is."

"Why?" I righted a fallen ladder and climbed up it, vaulting over the wall and landing on the other side with a light thud.

Percy grinned, his voice lilting playfully.. "I can't have a kid like you out all by yourself now can I."

I shot him an irritated glare. "I'm _not_ a _kid_." I snapped back.

"Okay, okay, Nico, feisty much huh."

I ignored him.

"Ah come on Nico, don't be like that." I still didn't respond. "Okay, dude, I'm sorry, I won't call ya a kid anymore, 'kay?"

I sighed in exasperation. "I'm not a two year old, I don't need you bribing me into talking."

"Fine but man, if you're going solo why not joi-."

I cut him off. "No."

Percy pouted. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes I do and the answer is no, I'm not joining your little gang."

"But-"

"No. I'm not going the same way you are."

Percy grinned and coughed. "You...do-don't know that."

"Yes I do, Reyna and Chiron circle each other, they never go into a new area the other isn't in."

"T-true." Percy coughed again.

I sighed. "Percy, if you're getting tired just go away, I don't need you slow-_oh diavolo_."

I turned. My eyes widened. The brunette swayed and I dashed over to his side to steady him. "Percy?! _Cosa c'è di sbagliato_. W-what's wrong?!" His tan skin had grown a few shades lighter, and his face was covered in sweat. He coughed again and I noticed a faint trail of blood spilling out the corner of his mouth, his eyes slightly bloodshot.

"M-mask." He wheezed out, pointing a clammy finger to the contraption on his face.

Mask? What the hell was he talking about? What was wrong with his mask?

Percy's eyes lolled to the back of his head and he started coughing more profusely, his body going limp and he crumpled to the ground. "Percy! _Percy!_ _Oh dio! Percy, dovete restare svegli, cosa c'è di sbagliato con la maschera?_" I shook my head, he couldn't understand Italian, I had to stay calm, think English. "Percy," I tried again, "Wh-what about the mask?"

"B-ba-ttery." He gasped out, before convulsing violently.

Battery? I looked at his face, there was a blinking red light on the side of the mask. My eyes widened. I remembered something about Chiron's masks being solar powered, but they couldn't charge and be used at the same time, so if he had been using the power for his goggles _and_ his mask...did that mean it had gone out? Was he out of power. That had to be it. Percy gave another jerk, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Blood spewed from his mouth this time, staining the inside of the filter red. My heart pounded, blood roaring in my ears and with shaky fingers I took off his mask, he'd choke to death if I left it on.

Throwing it to the side I propped his head up as he coughed again, more blood spilling out, drizzling on my fingers, staining my jacket, soaking his chin. Images of the death of my parents flashed across my mind. I couldn't save them then. I had been useless. They died in my arms. The same was going to happen to Percy. I couldn't save anyone. I couldn't save anyone. I could- Stop. I had to remain calm. I could save him, I just had to think. I had the answer.

I reached in my pocket and felt a familiar plastic touch my fingers. I inhaled sharply, of course, my mask. That's what I'd give him. Quickly I took mine out and clumsily strapped it to his face. It was bulkier but it would do, there was no time to be picky right now, he needed clean air. Flipping it on. I bit my lip and waited, hoping against hope that I hadn't taken too long, that he was still alive.

For a moment the boy remained still, then I heard him take a haggard breath and I let out a sigh of relief. At least he was breathing...but he still looked pale. Percy needed a doctor, there was nothing more I could do for him. The damage done to his lungs and internal organs was too severe to ignore. I bit my lip and felt the coppery taste of blood fill my tongue. I could take him back to Reyna's camp, get reprimanded, probably put on some sort of ridiculous duty if she was in a good mood, or she could kill me and Percy. Well...try.

I shook my head, okay so that wasn't an option, besides her infirmary wasn't very sophisticated and I doubted she'd have the medicines or technology needed to save him, not that she'd even likely want to spare it. That left Chiron and Percy's camp. Hopefully they weren't the shoot first ask questions later kind like Reyna.

"Percy," I whispered urgently, the boys breathing had evened out at least even if it was still slightly raspy, most likely his lungs had holes and fluid stuck in them now. "Percy," I tried. The boy opened his eyes slowly, not quite focusing on me, but seeming to know my presence was there. "You need a doctor, how do I get to your camp?"

The sickly teen beamed at me, his complexion paling considerably with the small action and I felt bad for asking him to do anything. "So...I...got...you-," He coughed and wheezed slightly before continuing, "...to...come...to camp...with me...huh?"

I fought the need to roll my eyes. Was that really what the most important thing to him? That I wouldn't be solo anymore? What was to stop me from just leaving once I knew he was okay? He needed to get his priorities straight. "You got me, now how do I get there?" I was really starting to get annoyed, I didn't like repeating myself, but what could I do? Percy was barely coherent as it was.

Percy's eyes had closed and for a moment I thought he'd gone to sleep but then he opened his mouth and said, "B-battery...needs...to ch-charge...com-link...map..." He stopped and licked his lips, blood smearing on his tongue and he wheezed dangerously. That was enough talking for him.

"Okay, good, now shut up." I think I got the gist of his message. I needed to wait for his battery to recharge, which meant I needed sunlight, and then I could use the other features on his suit, call for help, and figure out where his camp was. That wasn't so bad, I had a plan, Percy was stable at the moment, and there were no immediate threats to our survival, everything was okay. I glanced up at the sky, and wiped the blood from my lip; I needed to move us to another spot, the sky was already gray and the way the shadows moved in this alley space between crumbling buildings just wasn't good enough.

I glanced at the boy beside me; could I lift him? He was tall, but he wasn't especially bulky, it would probably be awkward and I might need to take breaks but it should be do-able. Checking to make sure Percy was still asleep, I propped the boy up and positioned him on my back, using my knees for support before hoisting him up. Immediately I stumbled, his weight distributed unevenly over my small from, his limbs hanging lankly and limply by my side. Steadying myself against a dirty brick wall, I took a moment to get used to the new weight on my shoulders, and placed his dirty mask in my hand, reaching painfully to the ground and picking it up, not an easy thing to do with a person hanging off of you like a monkey.

Huffing, I blew my bangs out of my eyes and mask in hand, I began to trek away. Back in the direction I had come. Away from Reyna's camp, and to an all knew territory. One that I didn't know what to expect from, and one that I hoped I wouldn't get attached to.

With my mind so pre-occupied, I didn't wonder about the cut on my lip.

Didn't worry about how it could have happened.

My body was supposed to be invulnerable.

I just jumped off a four story building.

It wasn't supposed to be.

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_A/N: OKAY! SO here it is! Chapter three, from the wonderful Nico's perspective :3 So tell me what do you think? Do you feel like the story is moving too fast? Does the pacing seem okay? Does Nico's character/Dialogue fit him? Did you understand what happened? If not please ask. Also yeah if anyone who reads Italian, reads this can double check it and tell me if its wrong so I can fix it lemmee know, just using wonderful google translate for now. Also! In case you wanna know what he says in Italian here you go!_

___Oh Bianca, mia sorella. Padre, mi dispiace non ho potuto proteggerla. Bianca, mi dispiace: Oh Bianca, my sister. Father I'm sorry I couldn't protect her. Bianca I'm sorry._

_____Non ti muovere: Don't Move_

_______Non posso: I can't_

_________oh diavolo: Oh hell_

_________Cosa c'è di sbagliato: What's wrong?_

_______Oh dio! Percy, dovete restare svegli, cosa c'è di sbagliato con la maschera?: Oh god! Percy, you have to stay awake, what's wrong with the mask?_

_______Okay! I think that's all the phrases used for now...if I missed one lemmee know._

_______Also in case you're wondering, Nico uses Italian when he's flustered, or upset, or really doesnt want to talk to anyone, I think it fits and makes sense since at least in this fic his native tongue is Italian._


	4. Sickness

_Please read + share and review! I LOVE YOU ALL! THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK!_

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**Chapter Four: Sickness**

_**Percy**_

You know, being sick sucks.

Like. _Alot_.

Like more than anything else is this fucking hell hole now known as the world, but hey there was nothing _I_ could do about that. Well...I guess I _could _have thought ahead and brought an extra battery or something, but heck, its not like I _asked_ to get stranded at the bottom of a depression, or to suffocate on _air,_ or to meet a really strangely attractive black haired Italian boy, like seriously, who _does _that? ...Well maybe the _last _one I'm okay with but everything else _NO!_ I mean doesn't _everyone _expect to be able to go home when they finish at work? Doesn't _everyone _expect to make it there and back without a hitch? Okay so maybe not _everyone_ but the only ones that don't are like totally paranoid which, at least to _me_, pretty much spells out to you that they're all _fucking_ _insane, _like, who ever feels the need to bring some sort of _emergency bag_ with them no matter where they were needs help, like majorly; _I_ didn't want to end up like that. No siree bob. Nope. Really didn't have that desire. Like. At all. Cause dude, that was just weird.

Anyway so yeah being sick sucks, and right now I guess you could say I was sick, but like to the max. You know like_ "HOMG, I THINK I CAN SEE HIS BONE STICKING OUT OF HIS NECK!" _sick...though maybe sick is too light word for that then. Is that even sick? That sounds kinda serious, not sure if that fits in the same category of ailments. Was it? I'd have to ask later. So, moving on, I was currently on the kid, Nico's, back...I think...though everything from this period was kinda hazy so you can't really count on anything I say being accurate. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple flying unicorns a few moments ago snickering at me from a rooftop if that says anything about my mental state being totally wonky. That and the sky was like the ground and the ground was the sky and everything kinda looked like it had poka dots on it... Like man, I felt like I was on something like really strong, like high off my rocker, like I was never doing the Dorito's again. Worse choice of my life letting Grover talk me into that, but that's another story entirely. One you really don't wanna know about. Or even care about. Or am going to talk about so you can just stop there and not even ask.

But hey, you can't really blame me for that though can you? I mean like, I think I coughed up half my lungs, and dude, I felt like _shit. _I don't even think shit begins to describe how bad I had it; right now saying that I felt like shit seemed like I was saying,_ "I felt like having a vanilla ice-cream sundae with a cherry on top". _I know that sounds disgusting, like_, how in the world can you compare shit to ice-cream, _but dude, you don't even _know _how bad I was hurting right now, saying I hurt alot was an understatement, so yes, shit currently sounded like a wonderful upgrade compared to my current...super shitty state. I was feeling woozy from blood loss and my throat felt like I just shoved a cheese grater down it, spit it back up repeatedly, ate salt, and then doused it all with alcohol. So yeah it burned, and breathing hurt, and my head hurt, and my legs hurt, and my whole body ached, and I don't even understand that cause like dude_, what the hell_? This sickness was supposed to be stuck in my _lungs_, not everywhere else. And wait a minute, why was I even sick in the first place, like wasn't I just supposed to suffocate and die. And if I had gotten another mask on shouldn't I just be able to breath normally?

I inhaled slightly and winced. Ow. Not okay, I didn't like the way my body was rebelling against me, it's just not okay. See, I do actually _enjoy _being in control of my body, I know it's a big surprise. Isn't it nice to know that when I think arm I don't get leg and that when I think breathe I don't get burn? Actually it's even better not having to think breath but unfortunately that's all I've been able to think about. How it burns so bad, how I want to breath in shallowly, how I want to actually grow gills drop in the water and absorb oxygen like that. I wonder if Chiron could come up with something like that if I asked him. He was pretty smart, I mean he did make the outfits we were currently wearing but still. If I could have screamed in agitation I would have, as it was I was having enough trouble just trying to stay somewhat conscious Nico was going to need my help. I couldn't let him fend all by himself just because he dealing with me and my sick ass. I could never forgive myself if something happened to him because of me, though granted in my current state I was starting to wonder if I could even get myself to stand to do anything.

Probably not, but I'd worry about that later.

I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the gentle rise and fall of Nico's chest as he carried me, and breathed out my nose; that was a little better than using my mouth, didn't hurt as much, but saying not as much still meant fucking _bad_. I was kinda impressed though, I knew I wasn't any lightweight, I mean I was lean, but I was tall and I had muscle; I just didn't know how little frail looking Nico was managing to carry me at all, he didn't look like he was supposed to be able to, like at all. He should have keeled over hours ago, but he hadn't, he just kept walking. Kept trucking. I wish I could see his face. At least then I could know if I was hurting him, but then again if I was what could I do about it? I was in no position to walk, it would just eat me knowing that this virtual stranger was struggling to keep me alive and that. Was. Not. Okay.

I was the protector, not the damsel in distress, I wasn't supposed to just sit back and watch as others struggled for the greater good. I couldn't allow that. I guess that was a kinda big me problem, my whole hero complex, but I couldn't help it. After my mother died, and my adopted brother, Tyson, commited suicide while I was pinned under a steel beam, I just felt a need to protect any and everyone. I couldn't let anyone else feel the way I felt in that moment, I couldn't ever just sit by and take it. Not anymore. The earth may have stolen from me but I would do my _damnest _to make sure that didn't happen to anyone else. I knew I was deluding myself, everyone had lost someone, there was no one that walked away from the apocalypse unscarred, I knew it but I didn't care, I had to tell myself that I was doing something that benefited others, that my struggle would help ease their pain if only a little.

Otherwise I'd go fucking insane.

Maybe that's why I was drawn to Nico. Because I saw my brother in him. Saw the same dark sadness and guilt running through his eyes as Tyson's. Saw the same look, the same emptiness that Tyson had before he took his life. Nico was suicidal, I knew that, I saw him jump off a four story building, and even though I don't understand _why_ that didn't kill him, it hadn't and he was still alive and I was going to make sure he felt a reason to live. I would _not_ watch another person lose to that darkness. I would save this strange Italian from himself if it was the last thing I did. Ha. See, hero complex. Maybe I was slightly suicidal and it was just my way of justifying getting myself killed. Maybe, it was, maybe it wasn't. A maybe's a maybe and there was nothing more I could about that. No point wasting brainspace wondering whether or not a maybe would come true. It was just one of the many in a long list of things not to think about. Though that was kinda hard when all I had for distraction was pain and LSD looking hallucinations. All that really remained _were_ my thoughts. Sucks _balls _right?

So I was left thinking, thinking about all the little things, all the little worries that I could usually keep at bay with busy work, handiwork but couldn't right now. The guilt. The things I had seen, the _what if's_ the _maybe's_ they all came boiling back up. It was like some weird form of PTSD, or maybe it really was and I just didn't realize it, either way it wasn't pleasant. I know that I wasn't the only one, I knew that even the happiest looking of us had our own dark shadows, our own ball and chain... Ah hell now I'm getting all poetic and depressing and shit, and dude, in case you haven't noticed I hated being a downer.

Anyway, so I got to thinking, and thinking led to contemplation and my thoughts wandered to a certain short, black haired, lad that I had met recently. I know I hadn't really said anything about it, but I was curious about why he was so different from the rest of us, from me. How it was he could jump off four story roofs and live. How he didn't wear a mask and still remained standing, seemingly okay. I knew I probably should have been scared, I probably shouldn't just trust so easily, but could he really be that bad? He saved my life, or rather he was _saving_ my life, he could have just left me to die, he could've just killed me the moment he was on top of me. I could tell he was used to doing what he'd done, he was used to taking life, I could see it in his eyes, and it made my heart ache that someone so young had to do such low things to stay alive. Granted, I was young myself, only nineteen, but I'd heard about some of the horrors of Reyna's camp, how she had a group of highly skilled assassins to do her dirty work, how when things were desperate they'd resort to cannibalism. Had Nico ever participated in that? I hoped not. It made me sick just thinking about it.

I knew that the entire power hierarchy of their group was built on who was strong and who was weak. The strong dominated, the weak obeyed. The fact that Nico had to have been apart of that, with his seemingly weak form, made my blood boil. He would have had to work even harder to earn their respect. It just wasn't okay. I coughed and I felt Nico's head turn before we stopped. With a grunt he lowered me to the ground. Ow. Even the gentle jostling was almost enough to make me scream. I could feel the weight of fluids inside my lungs. God, if I was bleeding internally I was screwed,...though I didn't see how I could not be, it seemed pretty obvious, but still, I could hope right?

I heard Nico kneel by my head and crack his neck before lifting my face into his lap. Slowly I opened my eyes. Nico was looking the other way, reaching behind him and unstrapping a canteen from his waist. I think my eyes widened at that. He'd had a canteen? Since when? How couldn't I have noticed that?

He turned and looked at me, his expression seemingly void of any feeling, stoic, a perfect poker face, the pinnacle of apathy, but his eyes betrayed him, showing just a fraction of emotion, of worry. Nico held my gaze a moment before moving the mask on my face up a fraction so my mouth was exposed, leaving my nose in its confines so I could still breath. "Drink." He said thrusting the canteen to my lips.

I stared blankly at him, my mind moving at one mile per hour, what the fuck had he just asked me. Drink? What the hell was drin- _Oh!_ Water, throat, coughing, yeah great, good, wonderful, the elixir of life but uh..._NO! _Throat burns! Drinking _anything _is _not_ going to end well.

I shook my head minutely. No way in heck I was going to drink anything at the moment. Nico sighed and pushing the canteen to my lips again. "Drink it."

"No," I croaked out. "...Burns...too...much."

The Italian pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something in his native tongue before fixing me with the fiery glare that I had gotten to know so well, in the, you know, three hours I hand known him. Cause that was _such_ a long time. Definitely enough for me to know _everything_ about him, though it wasn't hard cause you know that was like his default expression; glaring. That and scowling, or frowning, or just generally looking pissed, or annoyed or irritated. Though that might have had just a _little_ bit to do with the fact I had just like pushed myself on him. But hey, no one could resist some of _this _sexy hunk of man. You know...cause I was _totally_ attractive with sweat pouring off my head and blood spilling from my lips, totally Vogue worthy right? Probably not, but hey my ego needs some stroking every know and then too.

"Hey...what are...you...do-!" Nico made a face and pinched my nose, and I tightened my mouth. I could see what the little dick was trying to do and there was no way in hell I going to let it happen. Nope, not gonna happen, I was going to just learn how to breath another way, through I don't know, osmosis cause yes, that was definitely gonna work. Nico smirked, well I think he did, it was really hard to tell with him since everything he did was just really_, really _fucking subtle, the bastard, as my mouth finally opened and he shoved, and no I'm not exaggerating, it was a merciless push; he shoved, it was not a gentle process, the water down my throat. My eyes welled with tears and I had to fight the urge to strangle him. Granted the reason I probably didn't was because I was actually physically beyond the capacity to do so, which as I said before _sucked! _

Though thinking back on it, I wouldn't even be laying here if my lungs hadn't gotten fucked up in the first place. Ah, the wheel of fate is a cruel ass mother. A total BAMF!

I sniffed, and Nico's smirk widened just a little, enough so that I could actually say for certain he was smirking, the sick fuck, enjoying my pain and agony. "See, that wasn't so bad." Nico patted my cheek, his annoyingly sadistic smirk still plastered to his face. Oh this kid was wicked.

I wanted to say yell something snarky back to him. Maybe some growly action, but like no, that was out, my lungs probably looked worse than a smoker with a cold, which...looked pretty bad, that one time at the science museum was enough to prove that to me. That and Dr. Oz, or whatever his name was, my mom used to watch that show, I think she had a bit of a crush on him. Never saw the appeal.

But anyway, I couldn't go growly, mc. growl pants on him soo I settled for the next best thing; glaring. Nico just laughed, it was a surprisingly happy sound, his face lit up in a much more attractive and pleasing way when he did. Oh god no, not going down that train of thought. He. Is. Not. Allowed. To. Be. Hot. In. My. Mind. He tried to freaking _kill _me! Okay so that was an exaggeration, the water did help, I wasn't as wonky, but the pain was soooo not worth it. Of course he would laugh though, he was the glare master, I probably just looked ridiculous, totally, absolutely, ridiculous. Sick boy trying to glare in a scary way to a dude who makes a career out of being mysterious was probably not the best idea.

The black haired Italian, brushed the hair out of his eyes and re-placed the mask over my face. "Ah, is the _dude _angry?" He cooed. _Hell_ no, the little bitch was making fun of me now! If only I could stand and not see giant purple elephants on pogo sticks I'd totally have punched him in the gut and been on my way. Fuck. I just realized that this was totally my fault. If I hadn't gone down that depression I wouldn't have ended up seeing Nico, and I'd be safe and warm inside a nice purified air space. FML. _Fuck it all!_ Ah hell, worse mistake of my life, deciding to check on a "dead" boy. Never again. Never, ever, again. Next time he can just sit there and be all alone like he wanted in the first place. I rolled my eyes since there was nothing else I could do.

Nico looked behind me, his smile fading, his face returning to its default poker face, and pushed me into a sitting position. God he was serious. Why so serious? "I'm going to pick you up." It wasn't a statement, it was a fact. The kid didn't take no for an answer. I grunted in response and he hoisted me awkwardly onto his back with a huff then continued walking.

"B-battery..." I managed after a couple blocks.

Nico grunted in response. I groaned and tried again. "Charged...test it..." I realized he still had no idea where we were going and wandering aimlessly wasn't going to help me. Call me selfish, but like hey, I'd really prefer not having like an infection in my lungs and end up with only one by the end of it. I really liked being able to breath, it was just kinda a given, breathing felt good. Kinda like a good pee after you really had to go. The relief is just...Ah.

Nico leaned against a wall and checked my battery life. Fifty-Percent. Well it was a start. I felt him hesitate and he bit his lip, it was cut, when had that happened? And why did his blood seem to have a slightly gold tinge to it? That...that wasn't normal was it? I shook my head. Totally hallucinating, that was impossible, blood was not going to glitter like jewelry or have a multi colored sheen to it. God being I hated this. Not being able to trust my eyes was aggravating.

Finally Nico sighed in exasperation. "_Merda._" The boys shoulders tensed, and I felt the hidden muscle beneath them. His face was tinged a slight red. "Turn it on." He stated gruffly.

"W-what...?" My voice sounded dead to my ears.

Nico's blush deepened. "I don't know how it works; show me the map."

I felt realization creep on my face and mumbled. "O-oh."

Luckily my arms were already close to each other so it wasn't too much trouble to just tap the small circle on my wrist that opened the holographic interface. Nico's eyebrows raised in surprise and I opened the map feature showing a fully functional three dimensional image. Thank god we were still close enough to pic up the camp's signal.

I watched as Nico studied the map, his brow furrowed, eyes darting over streets, his mind looking like he was thinking really hard about something.

He nodded to himself. "That's enough. Turn it off."

I obliged and Nico pushed off the wall, lifting me higher onto his back.

We walked on, or rather, Nico walked and I lay there like a limp sack of potatoes on his back, sticking mainly to main streets, avoiding alleyways and crowded avenues as much as possible, probably because he didn't want to jostle me too much. I couldn't be certain about that, but it would make sense. I mean even I was getting annoyed at hearing myself gasp, or groan every time the dude walked over a pebble. It was fucking ridiculous. Finally the sun began to set, and a journey that shouldn't have taken any more than four hours...possibly...probably...most likely, I couldn't really know if I hadn't gone through the path the Animate did, had now escalated to over eight. God I hated my shitty life right now.

"We're going to stop soon, I don't like traveling at night."

Thank the lord all mighty, the kid did have a heart. I wasn't going to have to suffer much longer.

"Mmm," I mumbled, not having the will to make words. Did you ever notice how much energy it takes to freaking talk? It's insane. I felt worse than shit and all I wanted to do was lay down and die. Maybe I'd get lucky and it would happen in my sleep, drowning wonderfully in my own fluids. Great, that's like super sexy dude.

Nico walked a few more blocks and then circled around to the back of a seemingly ancient one story building, kicking down the old wooden back door that led to the inside of the abandoned space. The short Italian peered into the gloom, the air having a kinda nasty, musty, stale, un moved quality to it, before stepping in. He didn't worry about replacing the door, there was no point. It wouldn't be the first building to have a kicked in door in this town or even on this street. Besides who'd be out here anyway. The only people I could think of would be other Soloists like Nico, but like I said earlier, soloists are rare, you just can't survive on your own in this world. Doing so was like signing a death wish.

Then again with how the world has turned to rot, maybe that's what they'd want.

He moved through the store, stepping over bits of rock and debris, old chip bags, past slushy machines, behind the cash register and down a hall that led to an old employee's lounge. Nico kicked in that door as well and then walked inside the small room. I closed my eyes, and felt the body beneath me move, stepping lightly before setting me down gently on the old employee couch that rested in the room. I could feel the fine layer of dust beneath my fingers, but that didn't matter at the moment, at least I could finally sleep.

"I'll switch your mask in a couple hours." Nico said after stretching out his back. He didn't show it but I was sure he was sore, how could he not be? It had been a long day of him hunched over with a deadweight on his back. "Try and sleep."

I grumbled something in reply in totally intelligible English, that I think was kinda reminiscent of "_Kayasdfishj_." Yay, people were imaginative to say the least with their speech. Lazy tongues people, gotta work on that enunciation, speech impediments are a no go. Nico stood, the sound of shifting feet filling the room and the kid pulled a chair over to wear I lay the scraping grating my ears.

"...D-dude...what...the fuck...are you...doing?" I asked eyes opening a crack cause lets face it, loud scraping noises tended to take the edge off sleeping you know?

"Taking watch, you just sleep."

I frowned. "Why."

He was silent a moment. "...You never know what you will have to face or when."

I gulped and winced the feeling of my spasming muscles traveling sending quick spikes of stinging pain through me. He sounded like he was speaking from experience. I wondered what had happened to him. It didn't seem like it was anything good. Though I'm not sure I'd want to know. So instead I just asked, "W-when's...m-my...turn."

"Never."

"You..." I wheezed and paused for a moment catching my breath, "...W-water." I managed.

Nico stepped over and did a repeat of what he'd done earlier, just without the nose pinching. I winced and drank thankfully.

I tried again. "You...n-need...sleep...too."

"One sleepless night never killed anybody."

"You...need to be...in top shape...man."

"Just shut up and sleep."

"I'm...serious..."

"Don't worry about it."

"Why?"

The Italian's eyes took on a darker quality, his mouth setting into a thin line, if there had been fire around I'd have probably been freaked out by how it would reflect from them. "I said don't worry about it."

"But-"

"Sleep."

I breathed out my nose in exasperation, refusing to sigh and fuck with my throat even more, having learned my lesson a few moments ago and tried to close my eyes. If I did then at least then I'd have the chance of getting away from Nico's stubborn ass. God he needed to accept help more... Though maybe I'm judging him too harshly, I mean, considering my near dead/ pseudo dead state, I don't know if I'd take anything I'd say seriously either. It was just kinda not really acceptable. What the heck was I supposed to do? Breath them to death.

God I hated being the damsel in distress.

Not to mention, sleep was hard to come by. I had almost been there a couple times a couple minutes ago but now I was wide awake and wondering. The mysterious boy with the all black knife held more questions than answers. Heck the only answer he currently gave me was the key to my life, which granted was important, but I knew nothing about him. About how he survived, or how he managed anything in this world. Finally though, sleep won me over, and I fell back into it's comforting embrace.

Wait no, I just realized I had a bit of a problem.

Oh god this was beyond embarrassing. "Hey...Nico..."

"Mmm?"

"...I...I...I need...to pee.."

I heard the Italian lad sigh, and felt my cheeks color. I was probably redder than an over ripe tomato.

You know being sick sucks.

Like..._alot._

And you know what else?

Questions can always wait till morning.

Gosh life had become a living hell. I'm not sure I envy those still around. I think I envy those who died more.

At least they don't have to worry about strangers helping them pee.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

_A/N:_

_And thus ends the next chapter! So tell me! You like? His character stayed the same right? Questions being brought to light right? Wondering what else is in store? Don't you love Nico he's so...secretly sassy lol. Thanks again for reading, if there's anything you can suggest to make it better let me know anything unclear or whatever. I WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING lol._

_Anyway the Italian word of the day Merda: Shit lol if you know french you'd probably guess that. Next update soon :3 _


	5. Walking

_Hello Again, Archie here with the new chapter~ Hope you didn't mind the wait but yeah :3 Here it is the next installment, **Italian Translations** at the bottom :3 Read + review and share and critique please :3 And you know all the jazz. Hope you all like this chapter...no one commented on the other so idk lol ^^; I'll just hope you all do._

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

**Chapter Five: Walking**

_**Nico**_

Sweat pooled on my back, slipping into crevices I never knew I had, sticking my shirt to my skin, muscles burning with strain. I felt the heat of the sun, lost behind the clouds, still strong, sizzling the world with abandon now that the electromagnetic field was gone, the burn of toxic air running through my veins, wishing to find purchase in my powerful lungs, touching with tender fingers for a crack, a point of weakness. Ragged breaths and wheezes filled the air, my ears, the only sound I hear, a twisted melody that reminded me of the task at hand.

I push on, feeling all the burns, feeling all the weights, the sins of the blade on my side, the blood of the gun on my leg, the memories of the shirt on my flesh, the deaths on the jacket on my bones. Faulty moments I would rather forget. Faulty moments that refuse to disappear. _Si rammarica_. It's silent going, hard work; my back creaks from the extra weight, the scent of blood and the sight of lanky limbs the only thing in front of me.

I feel the boys head against my neck, his soft hair whispering against my ear, his legs in the pocket of my arms, the top of his chest pressed against my back. I feel the gentle rise and fall that means he is alive, _il soffio della vita_, I feel the blood pump through his veins, a strong pulse that I now carry; so fragile, so strong, so easily destroyed, entrusted to me, me alone, and I would cherish it. I would carry this responsibility with an open heart, with no complaint, see to it that he remained alive.

Heavy footsteps that are my own, my seemingly frail form trekked across the nothingness, the destruction, a world now forgotten,_ l'inferno che è la terra, _sent back to a time before the web eye was invented, the implant that connected every person to everything in the world. Language barriers were destroyed, we had finally achieved a unity humankind had never seen before, and then, it was all destroyed. Taken away in one fail swoop. _Nulla è rimasto_. Taken by the Other. Why though? That was the question that I didn't think would ever be answered.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. My feet carried me over rubble, past fallen skyscrapers, old monuments that told viewers of the world of old. Fallen monoliths that spoke of high achievements and of a society that would never die. What folly that was. What an intense irony, now that I could see what was left after it all ended. Since I had been left behind. In seeing what remained after. This was my desert, a large expanse of slowly crumbling earth, constantly moving, always running, always fearing the shadows, fearing what lay ahead, fearing what I had left behind. _Temendo i fantasmi del mio passato._

Why had I been chosen to live? Why did any of us remain? What was the point of it all? There was nothing to enjoy. Nothing to love. _E 'stata una maledizione_. Nothing to trust. Just the curse that is life, the worst gift someone could give me. It's funny how four years of suffering can change your opinion on something so basic. I never thought I'd grow tired of breathing, yet here I was. The only constant in life is that it changes, and not always for the better.

I remained tense and alert, I couldn't let my guard down, you never knew what might jump out of the corners, what horrible atrocities the world would spit out next. _Un mondo non è più il proprio_. And not all of them were Animate or Golems. Sometimes the biggest monsters came from yourself. Humans. I had enough scars to act as reminders. Enough close calls and regrets to warn all against it. I was ready for a fight. I was ready to do what was necessary to survive. And the sad thing was, thoughts like that change you. You can't hold on to your innocence like that, you can't expect to remain the same. If you can't still feel the same way you did before. To the same capacity.

If you did, you would go insane.

_ Perdere la vostra mente._

And unfortunately that was no longer an option. Whatever shreds of sanity you had left you had to retain. You couldn't fall into its freeing arms, there was nothing to cure you, no one who would care for you, if you became un aware of yourself, you had no protection. Choice didn't seem to exist anymore. Choosing your fate was a simple black and white choice. Live or Die. Kill or Survive. Your morals, your ethics, everything you knew was suddenly turned upside down. The world fell to hell and wrong became right and right became wrong.

Change wasn't a choice, it was a command, an order you had to follow if you were to remain in the new world.

The heat began to fade, and I blinked the stinging salty sweat out of my eyes, unable to wipe it away with my hands. The boy on my back snored lightly, having fallen asleep hours ago, unconsciously snuggling closer; I fought the urge to smack his head away, his hair was getting in my nose. Why was I even going through the trouble of saving this young mans life? I wasn't a good person, I'd taken more lives than I'd care to count; being with Reyna did nothing to save the innocence of youth, being with her killed it sooner. What was I to gain from helping him? Nothing I did was selfless. Everything I did had some sort of reward. Every job, every seemingly good favor had a price. There hadn't been a single selfless thing I'd done in close to four years. The feeling of doing something without any personal gain was as foreign as the Himalayas, forgotten along with so many other things. _Una cosa da odiare._

A much needed breeze blew down the street, kicking up dirt and old wrappers. A Hershey one here, a newspaper there, shattered glass underfoot, chunks of cement in the craters they created; large things broken off skyscrapers. I watched a building crumble to nothing, another piece of the Earth sinking in, returning to the place it was born, returning the surface to its former uninhabitable state. Rocky and dead. _Morti e roccioso._ Gray shrouded everything, eating at the remaining life, refusing to let happiness shine through again. Only letting the darkness and despair grow.

The Earth was done with us.

It was telling us to leave.

We had served our time.

Humans were just too stubborn to listen.

The boy on my back coughed and I was shaken from my reverie, my form switching out of its autopilot. Stopping, I set him down on the sidewalk, my body sighing in relief, bones cracking in release and I kneeled next to him, wiping the sweat off my brow, tying my red cloth belt around my head instead. I glanced up at the sky, the clouds were growing darker, the sunlight was fading; we'd have to stop soon, I didn't like travelling at night. It's when all the evils of the world felt it was safe to venture into the world of the living. For a long time I was one of them.

I unhooked my canteen, _mensa_, from my belt and placed it against the boy's lips. He resisted at first, but eventually I got him to drink. He was probably in a lot of pain and I felt bad for him but he didn't need to get dehydrated _and_ be sick. He needed to make sure he kept enough water in his system. It would improve his chances of survival. Picking the boy up I continued walking, taking a small break to memorize the map projected off of Percy's suit, taking in the short cuts, and filling in the holes where they had yet to travel. It wasn't a particularly hard thing to accomplish, I had assumed it was in the general direction I was walking in, it was just good to know that I wasn't totally crazy. If we were lucky we'd reach the camp before noon tomorrow.

"We're going to stop soon, I don't like traveling at night." I felt the boy's body relax like a sigh of relief; I guess not walking for a whole day collapsed on someone's back was tiring. I walked a few more blocks, picking forward slowly through the depleting light, finally stopping at an old 7-11. I walked to the back and kicked down the door that led inside the musty probably slightly diseased shop.

I made my way to the employee lounge before finally stopping, laying Percy as gently as possible against the couch in the room. Luckily it wasn't too old and still had retained some of its spring and cushion, though if I was in his position I'd probably not even care; it beat sleeping on the floor. A fine layer of dust covered everything, hopefully he wasn't asthmatic, if he was I'd probably find him dead in the morning.

"I'll switch your mask in a couple hours."

Percy mumbled something unintelligible and I grabbed a chair from the corner of the room, dragging it in front of him. I winced at the grating scraping noise it made but made no move to stop it. It wouldn't last forever.

"...D-dude...what...the fuck...are you...doing?" Percy asked, his voice raspy and punctuated like every word was a strain, which it probably was.

"Taking watch, you just sleep."

"Why."

I was silent a moment, my mind threatening to take me back to those times before. I quickly shoved them away, I couldn't lose focus here, I wouldn't lose to my inner demons now, breaking down would help anyone. "...You never know what you will have to face or when."

Percy fell silent, _meno male,_ and with only one more incident, fell asleep.

I sat in silence, eyes trained on the door, noting the stillness, the unearthly peacefulness that plagued this building. Air touched nothing. Burned nothing. Broke nothing. It was air that was almost pure enough to breath without a mask, I could feel it in my lungs, how the feeling of acid had slowly faded to a dull ache, a pain almost entirely forgotten.

I watched in the dark, and I waited, waited for disturbances, or for the ground to give way, or for the building to crash on top of us. You just didn't know what was safe and what wasn't anymore. Everything on this Earth was a danger, it kept you on your toes like one of the sickest games I'd ever seen. A horrible parable yet to be recorded.

My dagger found its way into my hands and I stared into its cold black surface. My sister had made it for me a long time ago, at least it felt that way, time seemed to last longer when there was no one to share it with. It still held its original sheen, a dark reflection of myself could be seen in its depths. The blade was wide and slightly curved, the hilt molded to fit my hand perfectly, the weapon was the epitome of perfection for me. The blood that fell from it was the same as the blood on my hands. It was an extension of myself. _Uno nella stessa_.

_"Bia, what are you doing?" A small boy asked in his native Italian, he still didn't feel comfortable speaking in English and refused to do so unless he had to. His hair was long and black, stopping just beyond his shoulders, the tips curling upwards slightly, his dark eyes staring at his sister in wonder. In appearance and stature he seemed barely old enough to be out of elementary school, but his eyes held the wisdom of someone much older. The clothes he wore were two sizes too big, his shirt hanging past his hands, his pants threatening to fall off his slim, almost emaciated waist. Bianca, his sister, looked at him with a sad smile, she tried her best, often times going without so that her brother could have, but it wasn't enough; she was dying. She couldn't keep up with the way things had been changing. She felt it in her soul, in the voices that spoke of destruction that slowly ate at her conscious. She wouldn't be there for her little brother soon._

_ "Ah, il mio fratellino, I'm making you a present." Her voice was smooth and sweet, full of love and kindness, yet...something was behind it, something that threatened to overflow from her, cracking the fragile mask she had put together. Her English was perfect, she switched between the two languages with an ease that always astounded the younger one. He always loved hearing her talk._

_ Her brother stared in awe, his mouth spreading into a wide smile, the smile of the innocent when they don't feel that anything could go wrong even with the world gone to hell. _

_ The young Italian made a grabbing motion with his hands. "Dammi!" Gimme! He whined, reaching forward. His sister pulled away and her brother pouted._

_She smacked the top of his head affectionately. "Speak English, Neeks, you'll never get any better if you don't."_

_ Nico scowled. "Fine." He mumbled, his voice heavily accented. "I still don't see the point of it. You're the only one I ever talk to."_

_ Bianca smiled. "That's not the point Neeks, we're in America now, if something ever happened to me I want you to be able to call for help, communicate with others."_

_ Nico frowned. "Why wouldn't you ever be here for me? You're not planning to leave are you?"_

_ The older Dolore gave him a hug instead of answering. "Here, take this, use it only when you have to, I made it with some of that weird bronze that made you feel sick and smelted it with some of the meteorite we found."_

_ Nico felt something press into his hand and he looked down to see a shiny black blade resting in his palm, covered in cloth. The boy stared in awe at it's surface, it was crafted so beautifully; the obvious time and labor spent in making it was apparent._

_ "Come hai fatto a fare questo?" Nico asked slipping back into Italian, holding it up to the light._

_ "English, Nico." His sister reminded gently._

_ The raven haired boy sighed in irritation. "How'd you make this?"_

_ She patted his head. "Like this." She held out her hand and small flame erupted on her palm. Nico stared, eyes, if even possible, growing wider, his beaming ecstatic smile all Angelica needed to see to warm her spirit. She put out the flame._

_ Her brother looked up at her and his smile faltered, her face was contorted in pain and brow furrowed with sweat. He reached out to touch her. "Ti senti bene?" Are you okay?_

_ She slapped his hand away and for a moment her eyes flickered to a strange fiery color. Nico gulped and pulled away. "Angelica?"_

_ She opened her eyes and tried for a weak smile. "Sto bene, andare a letto, ho solo bisogno di dormire." I'm fine. Go to bed, I just need to sleep._

_ The young Italian looked at his sister quizzically, his eyes saying he didn't believe her but he obeyed, nodding and climbing up their makeshift ladder to the spot he slept in, a small crevice in the face of rock that had been cut away over weeks and weeks, now littered with a few blankets and empty wrappers that once held cheaply preserved food. Their supply was starting to grow low but the boy didn't know that, no the sister kept everything like that from him, she didn't want him to worry. She wanted him to be as comfortable as possible, but that was becoming harder and harder to do as her illness became worse and worse._

_ See, she had the enigmatic K-Virus._

_ And that amongst other things was slowly killing the girl she knew herself to be._

My head jerked up with a snap, eyes flying open, body instantly tensing, my knife clattering to the floor, neck stiff from how I'd been slumped in the chair. For a moment I was confused, I didn't recognize where I was, or remember how I'd gotten here, everything was dark and dirty making me edgy. Then I heard the light snoring and I remembered. Percy. I must have dozed off while thinking of my past.

I shivered, and not just from the cold. The memory had shaken me; I tried my best not to remember her smile, or her frown, or what she had sacrificed for me; it just made the guilt all the more painful. I pulled my jacket closer to myself, tightening it around my small torso and tying my belt made headband back around my waist. I couldn't believe I had fallen asleep, I was lucky nothing had happened or Percy could've gotten killed. I sighed to myself, this was why I traveled alone, I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself then. I didn't have to worry about piling on more guilt on my already mountainous mound.

If I gained much more I would drown.

"_Merda_." I stepped over to where Percy was sleeping on the couch, brushing some of my hair out of my eyes, my rumpled shirt rising slightly as I stretched, waking up my muscles and rolling my neck as I did so. Tentatively as to not wake him, I removed the mask he had on his face and quickly placed the one I had met him with, on. I checked the battery on my own mask; more than seventy five percent of it's life had been used. I didn't know what I was going to do when both masks ran out of power, I could breath just fine but Percy couldn't. I bit my lip, that meant we would only have about eight hours of life left before we'd be in trouble, unless we found some more batteries. Those weren't good odds considering I had to carry his weight and if we stayed the rest of the night then we'd have even less time. We had to move out now then.

Reaching down I shook his shoulder gently. "Percy," I whispered, breath fogging in front of me, was it really that cold? "Percy, we have to get moving." I shook him again. The boy groaned in his sleep and coughed lightly. "_Ah, per l'amor di dio-"_

Something behind me broke.

My hand instantly went to the gun strapped on my leg, my knife still on the floor about a yard away. My body tensed and I quickly picked my way towards the door I had kicked down, blood pounded in my ears, adrenaline knocking the rest of my sleep away and pulling my senses into high alert. More rustling, and a distant thump, I crouched down to the floor, remaining perfectly still, as still as a statue, still enough that I blended into the darkness around me. I cocked the pistol in my hand and raised it slowly, I had yet to see if these people were dangerous or if they would just leave.

If they were people.

Another crash and this time I heard whispers, quick and urgent. Two pitches, two people, two targets...unless it was one person with dis-associative identity disorder, you could never rule out the possibility crazier things had happened in this new Earth. I crept closer, making sure I kept to the shadows; I needed to see who it was I was dealing with. I had to hear what they were saying. Maybe they could be of use to me.

"...-re that we should be in here? I mean what if it was Animate?" It was a female voice, scared, jumpy, lightly accented, probably Scottish not dangerous unless I startled her and she had a gun.

"Relax, hun bun, we ain't goin' go in far," This voice was male, defiantly male, probably the female's boyfriend, lover, significant other, whatever the term was for them; his voice drowned in a harsh country timbre. I knew there were supposed to be differences in the accents but I couldn't tell you what they were, I never could tell. "I just wanna' see what kicked 'da door down."

"Carter, they..._it_, might not even be here still, why don't we just go?" The two figures were in my sight now. One was a mouse haired girl with small frantic eyes, the other, Carter, a tall brawny man, tanned deeply by the sun. It was hard to tell what race he was, he had so many features of other groups that he looked almost like a patchwork of genes. Though I suppose he was handsome in a body builder type of way. He must've done a lot of physical labor before the apocalypse, maybe he was a farmer that would explain the tan. Both seemed fairly young, maybe a year or two older than Percy was.

"I doubt it Sadie, people don' come 'round these parts, ya' know that, it's been just us for months now. Why'd they kick down a door 'n just leave?" Carter said shaking his head. "Makes 'bout a lick of sense."

The girl, Sadie, stepped closer to Carter and grabbed his arm. "I know, but this is creeping me out, maybe they'll just go and we'll not have to make any trouble with them. It's not like we own this district anyway, we're just a couple Soloists."

So they weren't affiliated with anyone, that made things easier, if I had to kill them then no one would come looking, no problems would follow us.

Carter sighed and did a quick once over of the room. "Fine, les' go."

Sadie visibly relaxed and kissed the broad mans shoulder. "Thank you." Carter grunted in response, I could tell he didn't take praise well, I could relate, I didn't either. It made me feel awkward, I wasn't worthy of praise, didn't they know all the horrible things I'd done all in the name of survival?

The pair of Soloists turned and began to make their noisy way out when it happened. Percy coughed.

They froze.

I held my breath.

Carter began to make his way over to where I was hiding.

I stood. Carter shouted. Sadie screamed. Bullets fired. Loud bangs. Bright flashes. Hot pain flared in my body. On my head. Shoulder. Chest. Leg. The impact knocked me to the ground. I grunted as I landed on the floor with a thud. Glass shattered. Old stands crashed to the floor. Money flew in the air as the cashier was flung open. Air rushed out of my lungs. More screams. A flurry of chaos. I tried to get my bearings. The world spun. My ears rang.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, is he _dead_?" Sadie sounded close to hysterical. "Why the hell did you _shoot _him?" She screamed.

"He had a gun Sadie! He would've shot us if we hadn't shot him!"

"Oh really?! How long do you think he'd been sitting there?! If he was going to shoot he would've done it when we didn't know he was there!" I heard the sound of something slamming against the wall with a crash. "Oh god, oh my god, what the _hell _have we done?"

"We're survivin' that's what babe."

Sadie sobbed. "Oh gosh, I just wish...I mean, I just don't-"

I coughed. "Not...dead." I groaned and got to my feet, brushing the dust off my jacket, wincing at the pain radiating through my body. "_Merda. Che male come una cagna." _I mumbled to myself before turning to the flustered duo. "Just shut up." I glared daggers in their direction.

Sadie's jaw dropped. Carter eyed me critically. My unblemished flesh stared back at him with startling clarity. The holes in my jacket and pants peepholes into the truth, into reality.

Finally, Carter spoke, pulling Sadie closer to him. "What da' _hell _are ya'?"

"A really unlucky boy."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "That ain't no answer kid."

I matched his stare. "It's the the only answer you're getting."

"Boy, I could wring ya' skinny little neck like a chicken, na' answer the damn question."

My gaze went steely. "I've dealt with worse than you, don't try to intimidate me." I growled out, taking a step forward for effect; the two backed up. I guess they got the message. "I'm human, and that's all that matters."

The silent air was tense, both parties frozen to our spots; Carter and I glared dangerously at each other, Sadie just looked back and forth between the two of us with a mix of confusion and fear.

Percy coughed again and I glanced in the direction of the lounge. "Who's that?" Sadie finally asked, breaking out of her human cage after giving him a look. "Where are you going." She asked taking my cheeks in her hand and looking me in the eye, "It's okay, you can tell me."

I bit my lip and looked away. "I-it's Percy...he...he's sick, I'm trying to get him back to his camp." There was just something so motherly about Sadie, with her lilting accent and warm comforting smile that I felt compelled to tell her my problems. "I was about to leave when I heard you two walk in." I took a breath and looked her in the eye. "We only have eight hours of air left."

"Is the camp that far?"

I shook my head. "If I was by myself I could get there in under three hours, but I have to carry him and be careful not to jostle him, it takes away a lot of the most direct routes."

Sadie stared at me in surprise and Carter scoffed. "A shrimp like ya' carrying a grown man? You ain't got the balls for that son."

I glared at the bulky man. "I'm seventeen, I can carry my weight just fine." I spat back.

"Really? I thought you were fourteen." Sadie's mouth made an O shape.

I scowled, mouth contorting into a grimace. "I'm gonna go now, _addio_."

"Oh no you don't. We're going to help you."

"What?" I said.

"No." Carter interjected.

"Yes." Sadie countered, staring pointedly at Carter.

"I couldn't-"

"He's in bad shape right?" Sadie asked looking me in the eye.

"Yes."

"You want to get there in time right?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll accept our help, okay?"

"Fine."

"Lead the way."

I nodded and made my way back to the employee lounge, careful not to disturb any of the bulletins on the wall, it just felt wrong to mess with them after all this time. We stepped through the open door and I picked up my blade, still on the floor, sheathing in its case on my side. Percy stared at the three of us in surprise. He was sitting propped up on the couch, probably in the process of getting up, looking worse than hell.

"_Ah! Cosa credi di fare! Lay indietro!_" I reprimanded.

Percy gave me a weak grin. "Dude...you...know...I...don't...speak Italian...right?"

"That-that's irrelevant, lay back down what were you doing anyway." I was glad it was dark, they couldn't see my blush as easily.

"Heard...gunshots...thought...you...were in...t-t-," He coughed and I saw the mask speckle red. "Trouble."

"You're an idiot, now shut up." Percy nodded, probably more than happy to agree.

"Okay, Carter will carry him, and you'll lead, got it?" Sadie said, taking charge. I just nodded in agreement.

"Do you have extra batteries? If we run out of air there's no point in doing this."

Sadie shrugged. "He can use mine if it comes down to that, I have a pretty good immunity to the air around here, I can probably last an hour without a mask."

I felt my eyebrow rise slightly, I'd never heard of a normal human who could survive off the air that long, maybe she had the virus too?

"Okay then. Let's go." Sadie walked out the room and Carter gently lifted Percy into his arms like a baby. I made to follow Sadie.

"Boy." Carter put a foot out to stop me. "You may have Sadie fooled, but I'll be watchin' you. Don't expect any less from me. Whatever game ya' got planned ain't gonna work."

I smirked and looked up at the hulking man, giving him my most devious smile. One advantage to memorizing voices is that I got to be good at imitating them too, you'd think that would apply to when I spoke English in my normal voice but it didn't. Just a strange irony of it all. "Why sir, I don't have a _clue '_bout what'cha be talkin' bout sugar." I said, my voice in a falsetto into that of a southern belle.

Carter glared, looking like he ate a sour prune, and I turned on my heel, sauntering away with a light chuckle. I heard Carter curse and Percy coughing trying to cover up his laughter.

I got the feeling these next hours wouldn't be too dark.

Maybe I'd actually have fun.

Perish the thought.

******-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

**A/N:**_ Okay and that's a wrap. So tell me did you enjoy it? Don't you like secretlySassy! Nico? I freaking love that lol. And the plot thickens :3 Oh yes I'm sure you all are wondering and maybe freaking out about this so let me clarify. Sadie and Carter are NOT i repeat **NOT **related in this fic. I am also aware that they are OOC and that Sadie is Scottish instead of...well English accented half white/half black etc. So yeah these two for this fic are lovers, it is one of the many OOC characters in this. You'll also find Leo OOC, Jason OOC, if you consider Percy OOC then prob Grover too, Reyna not so much Chiron maybe a little. So yeah other than that do you like it? I hope so. Please review. Did Nico's P.O.V seem consistant with previous chapters? Lol isn't Percy Nico just adorable? Nico totally secretly cares or maybe it's not so secret and he just wants it to be. anyway...Percy P.O.V next time. Maybe another update late today early tomorrow_

_**Italian Glossary**_

**Si rammarica: **My Regrets

** il soffio della vita: **The breath of life

** l'inferno che è la terra: **Hell on earth

** Nulla è rimasto:** Nothing is left

**Temendo i fantasmi del mio passato: **Fearing the ghosts of my past.

** E 'stata una maledizione: **It is a curse

**Un mondo non è più il** **proprio**: A world no longer your own

**Perdere la vostra mente: **Lose your mind

**Una cosa da odiare: **One thing to hate

**Morti e roccioso: **Death to rock

**mensa:** Canteen

**meno male:** Thank God

** Uno nella** **stessa:** One in the same.**  
**

**il mio fratellino: **My little brother

**Merda: **Shit

**Ah, per l'amor di dio: **Ah, for the love of god

**Merda. Che male come una cagna: **Shit. That hurt like a bitch.

**addio: ** Goodbye (forever)

**Ah! Cosa credi di fare! Lay indietro!:** Ah! What are you doing! Lay back down!

_*Disclaimer these are google translate translations if they are incorrect please let me know!*_


	6. Trekking

_Hey all sorry for the lateness I'll be posting another chapter later on pretty soon, I'm almost done with it. It's probably a tad longer than normal and a lot happens in it of importance I hope you enjoy! ANYWAY thanks for waiting patiently and please READ! REVIEW! COMMENT! WHATEVER! SHARE WITH PEOPLE IF YOU LIKE IT! THANKS AGAIN!_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**Chapter Six: Trekking**

_**Percy**_

You know, I was really starting to get annoyed with the whole damsel in distress act that I'd been forced into. Like dude, totally not okay. I was _sick_, not trapped in a fucking tower waving a snotty tissue out a window leading dudes into death traps, screaming: _"Help me! Help me!". _I was _not _a damsel and I was _not _in distress...Got it?!

Okay I take that back. I _was_ in distress, this whole situation was just _distressing_, I mean thinking about my impending and probable death would do that to ya, _but _I still wasn't a damsel. Last time I checked I still had my wonderfully sexy man parts. Or at least I hoped I still did, considering I'd lost feeling in my lower half, I just wasn't too sure anymore. Hmmm. Yeah...that couldn't be good; I should probably mention that to the one carrying me, but no, that would just add to the whole race against time syndrome I'm sure Nico installed into them. Ah the sassy bitch, he totally worked the girl into helping. The dude was really crafty and underhanded in how he dealt with people. A total manipulator. Not that I'm complaining of course. Beats hanging off his scrawny neck.

Speaking of the poor fucked over souls, I wasn't sure which was worse, being carried on the back by a kid who was half my freaking size and looked like he should be doing some studious middle school thing or being carried in the arms of a fucking_ neanderthal_ who, let's face it, would probably just as likely crush me in those large ass logs he calls arms then gently carry me through a field of pansies with a delicate leaping trot. Oh god that's a hilarious image. I mean have you _seen_ those things? I swore they were freaking tree trunks! I couldn't _believe_ Nico had the balls enough to actually mess with him!

Though...granted...it was freaking hilarious.

I had no idea he could pull off a southern belle so well.

He probably would've made a good actor if the world hadn't end.

Oh well, nothing more to be done about that ya know? What's done is done. Gotta smile and shrug it off. Just keep swimming. Or walking. Or running. Or in my case coughing. The only upside to having slept a little was that I wasn't quite as delusional anymore. Or maybe I was and I was in fact in of some sorta wonky ass hallucination. Though I sincerely doubted I could imagine this man into existance. Like I said. Dude he was a fucking neanderthal. His _muscles_ had muscles. Again, Nico was a fucking idiot!

Though Sadie didn't seem too bad.

She kind of gave off this weird motherly hard ass vibe...which I guess kind of was the definition of a mother right? Like tough love? Love with fury? Love with the balls to know when to reprimand your children? Yeah, she definitely gave off those vibes. I'd be scared to come between her and her kid. I bet she'd be feral.

You never wanted to get in the way an overprotective mom, no telling what they'd do.

Probably something that would end with someone dead. Scary thought right?

How the heck had she ended up with Carter? That one seemed to wanna remain a mystery to me. I mean on the one hand there were the accents. Sadie sounded like foreigner and Carter sounded like a country kinda guy. Then there was the fact that Sadie just seemed so much more...controlled, then Carter. Well if that shooting earlier was anything to go by. It was just curious ya know? I just wanted to know. Seemed like it would be a cool story.

Hmm...speaking of the mystery impervious child, why the heck weren't they asking him anything? Like you know...about the whole_ impervious to all things that really ought to kill a guy but for whatever reason doesn't_?! It was crazy. And I wanted to know why. If there was nothing more I could do then I'd get at least some answers! Maybe they were just like me and figuring it best _not_ to ask? Maybe they all saw the killer that rested beneath the surface?

Hmm...maybe he wasn't a killer. Maybe he was just...really dark...and emo...and depressing...and sassy. But maybe he was? Would it really bother me if he had killed anyone? I don't think it should, I'd killed stuff before. Things had to change, you know, morally, now that the world as we knew it was gone. Like I said you couldn't remain the same if you remained here. So...so what if he'd kill some people. It was cool. He was on my side, ya know?

But that look. The look of someone used to killing. That...That I think un-nerved me. The sadness I saw in what he felt that he had to do.

I worried he wouldn't remain sane.

But hey! That's too depressing, gotta lighten up. No one likes a downer!

So, yeah the last one, that whole issue of that kids sassyness, that...now _that_...that was interesting. It really could only be described as secret sass. Like the way he shook...shaked...shakes? His ass. Ass. Hahaha sassy assy. Sass-a-ss. Fuck. No. Not going down there, fevered mind is now making me a horndog. Sooo not okay. I do not approve of hormones at this moment in time. Can't I look at some roc- FUCK! Rock...leads to hard...leads to sex...leads to no. Just no. Not happening.

I coughed.

"Ya' got'cha self a problem there champ?" Carter asked glancing down at me.

"...Wh-...at...?" I rasped out. Honest. I had no idea what he was talking about. Was there a problem?

Victor gave me a look, his eyes drifting down and my gaze followed. "Oh!...D-d-dude..nope...no...problem...uh...hormones?"

Carter gave me another look but said nothing more. Oh god that was embarrassing, how didn't I feel that happen? Hmmph...I know why..._I can't feel my fucking legs_! Talk about awkward.

I sighed, and squirmed uncomfortably in the guys arms. In case you haven't noticed I don't really do the whole sit around and do nothing thing. It just didn't work for me. So I'm sure you can imagine just how fucking bored I was getting just laying here. I wanted to move. I wanted to help. And I really wanted to get the feeling back in my legs. It was driving me freaking _ape shit_!

Unfortunately I really doubted that would happen before I get back to Chiron's camp.

"Hang on ta' ya; britches kid, lil' early to be squirmin' 'round. Still got sum' hours 'till we get there."

I groaned, though whether it was from boredom or pain I didn't know. Probably an obnoxious pairing of the two.

The party of four, Carter, Sadie, Nico, and myself, made our way through the now long since empty streets of Los Angeles. It was still dark so both Sadie and Nico held flashlights in their hands, waving them around, making sure nothing was about to jump out at them or if they were about fall into some pit or whatever else could happen out here. At the moment the two of them were talking, Sadie laughing at something the short Italian had said. I chanced a glance upwards and noticed Carter's grimace.

"...Not...liking...the show?" I asked, I didn't even care that it hurt to talk at the moment I just really needed something to do. You know, besides feeling like a sack of potatoes. Or thinking about how useless I was at the moment, which granted didn't really fade away from talking to him cause I was still able to think in the time I wasn't talking...but still. I think too much. And ramble and it's an issue but oh well. I was just bored as hell. A little pain never killed anyway right?

Don't answer that question, I'd rather delude myself into thinking it was so.

"What'cha mean kid?" He grunted glancing down at me for a moment.

I gestured towards Nico and Sadie, the two had their heads close together in a _I have a dirty little secret to share with you _way. "...The...two...girls..." I snickered to myself at the thought of Nico as a girl. He'd probably want to kill me. He'd probably end up straddling my hips again and shoving a knife up against my throat until I'd bleed and...why was that suddenly really,_ really _hot? Was I a masochist? Was he _making_ me masochistic? Oh god sexy Italians shouldn't be allowed to exist if they were going to do this to me.

Anyway it wasn't very hard to change. All my imagination had to do was see him with longer hair, make him lose that damn scowl and grow some boobs. Nothing too big. That would be awkward. I wasn't even a fan of big boobs to start with. But yeah, his face was pretty feminine to start with, so it wouldn't be much of a stretch.

Carter made a face. "No, I'm not, I dun' like them gettin' long so well. Makes mah skin crawl."

I gave him a questioning glance. "Why?"

"I dun' trust 'im."

I scrunched my face. "Why...not?"

"Dun' know. Kid don't sit right with me. Got darkness in 'im that one."

I rolled my eyes. "Dude...everyone's...got something...dark...in them...You can't...judge...them...on that..." I took a breath, coughing lightly. "...No...one's still...the...s-same." I wheezed and fell silent breathing heavily. Damn that took a lot out of me. Spots were starting to pop up in my vision. Large black damnable things that I thought should've remained elsewhere, plaguing some other poor soul. Not me. I didn't deserve this. Though did anyone deserve the fates they got anymore?

I can't imagine what hell anyone of our asses could've caused to deserve this. It was worse than death.

Carter looked at me for a moment, before a faint grin crossed his face. "I like ya' kid. Lot more than that other one. Ya' got'cha self a good head on ya' shoulda's."

I grinned. "Well...I'm not...one to brag..."

"Sure kid, sure. Now shut'cha mouth. Dun need ya' dyin' 'afore ya' time, now do we?"

"Aye...aye...captain...I'd...totally...salute...ya...dude...but...can't...move...my...arms...like...at all." I coughed. "And now...I'm gonna...shut up."

"Good, that's 'nuff out of ya."

We kept up the same pace for the next couple hours, myself going in and out of sleep, cause dude, ill kid here, needa conserve mah measly strength ya know? Even if I wasn't walking, you never knew what you might need me to do. I just had to be ready. It was all I could do. All any of us could do.

The sun began to come up and nothing was looking familiar. Everything just looked gray and dead and old and abandoned. Everything looked the same. Where the hell was Nico taking us, I mean the kid only looked at my map like once for like thirty seconds. The kids bound to need more than one look right? Was he lost? Was he one of those, I'm a manly man guys and I don't need directions guy?

I hoped not.

Though I couldn't complain. That was pretty much me on a daily basis. It's kinda how I got stuck in this situation to start with. Ah the wonders of age. With age comes experience and wisdom or some crap right? If so I couldn't wait till I was fucking _ancient_. Maybe then I'd finally know something. Wouldn't have to get stuck in this shit anymore. It was totally over-rated.

Over the past few hours the group had gone quiet, Nico was all business, and kept glancing back at me, his face gettting more solemn with ever look. I don't think he had the capability to look worried on his face, just serious. Ah the kid cared. Sadie would put a hand on his shoulder and he'd offer her a weak smile. Gosh what were they mother and son? Hadn't known each other like four hours? Seemed kinda ridiculous. God I hated being the realist in the group.

Awkward shadows were cast, throwing my already fucked vision into utter hell, the sunlight making new forms in the shadows. Tall giants. Watchful shadows. Slithering snakes. Everything and Anything.

My condition had only gotten worse. The numbness had spread from my legs to my chest and the tips of my fingers. A tease. A fake telling. I was slowly dying. Was there even a point in trying? Would I be able to be saved even if we made it? Or is it already too late? It's sad, they want me to fail. They probably want me to crumble. That would be one less mouth to feed. One less fucker to worry about. Sure they'd mourn for a little bit, but did any of them really expect to find me after a day? Would anyone be looking?

I wondered if Grover had stopped searching. I wondered if he was missing me. I wondered if the apocalypse had changed even that much in the boy who'd been my friend all my life. Now that would be a horrible irony. Dying believing one would come when no one was. And no one cared. I wondered if they'd taken even that need inside him and warped it into something else. Some form of rage in which they had to take it out on.

I wondered if the Animate had arrived.

If so what could we possibly do to survive?

"Hey kid," Carter tapped my head with his finger.

"Huh? Wha-?"

"Ya' recognize anythin'?"

I shook my head. "No."

He sighed. "Great."

Nico walked over with a frown on his face. "I need to change your mask."

"Kay."

Carter glared down at the black haired youth. "So how much farther huh?"

Nico grabbed took off my mask. "Not very. Shouldn't take more than an hour."

Carter grunted in response.

"How...do...you...even know...where you're going?" I gasped out

Nico put the other mask over my face. "I memorized it. Now shut up, this air's not good for you." He flipped the switch. "Come on."

He walked back up to Sadie and Carter let out a sigh. "Hope that kid knows what he' doin' for yo' sake."

"I'm...sure...he does."

"Kid, you trust too easy."

I grinned. "So...I've...been...told."

The tan man shook his head. "Go to sleep kid."

"Nah...I'd rather...stay awake."

"Suit'cha self."

Silence fell over the group again. We continued to trek through the now almost full sunlight. The heat was starting to build again and I could feel sweat pooling on all of my muscles. The sun wasn't even past the skyscrapers yet and it was ridiculously hot. Just another wonderful perk to being alive in world of death. Time was ticking by. I felt the lack of sleep start to hit me. Full forced tiredness slipped through me. Pulling my eyes closed. I fought the urge off. If I was being honest I was beyond scared of what would happen if I'd fall asleep. My hands and legs and elbows had all gone numb. If I fell asleep I wasn't sure I'd wake up again.

I gulped. How much longer did I have? I kept expecting to see my body crumbling to dust or turning into stone or some other ridiculous thing but all I saw was flesh. Well technically I just saw my jumpsuit but still. You get the point. My body was turning to lead. Infection had definetly set in. In just a day my life had gone from hell to inferno. My life was slipping away. I was at death's doorstep. But I was unafraid.

My eyes began drooping

But I was unafraid.

I was unafraid.

I was unafra-

_Beeeeeeeeeep! _A loud wailing split my ears and my eyes shot open. What the fuck was that? I glanced around as I heard the sound again. Everyone had stopped, everyone tensed.

"W-what is that?" Sadie came jogging over, Nico behind her.

The Italian pointed at my wrist. "It's that."

"...Wha...?" I looked down. My mind was slow. I was supposed to know what this was.

It finally hit me. "Com...Link!"

Nico's eyes widened and he tapped the blinking button on my wrist. The wailing stopped immediately.

"-at do you mean? No I'm not goin back yet man! He can't be dead yet!" It was Grover he was arguing with someone on what looked like a cruiser, well we called it that, it was more of a truck with the back cut out of it and some guns welded with it. One of the few vehicles we had that still worked thanks to Leo's handyman skills. If there was one thing he was good at besides blowing stuff up and playing with fire it was messing with machines. He was the one in charge of all the repairs to the main air purifier we used so we didn't have to use masks all the time. It ran on Adamantium. See why we need so much now? That contraption takes a lot of energy, ya know?

"Look I'm just saying, it's been over twenty four hours, there's no way he's alive dude." I rolled my eyes, Jason. Of course it would be Jason. That meant Leo was probably with them. The two boys were virtually inseparable, I guess a lot like how Grover and I were, but thats neither here nor there. I guess it came in handy when it came to making teams though. We never had to worry about who'd be with us. If I went Grover went if Grover went I went. Same with Jason and Leo. If you got one you got the other. Handy little fact ya know?

I coughed. "Sorry...to disappoint you then..."

The two boys on screen turned around and a third curly unruly haired brunette with a slightly manic grin and wild eyes popped on screen from the side. Leo. "Percy!" They exclaimed simultaneously. Yes indeed. I was christ incarnate. From the dead I shall rise. Bow before me peasants!

"Dude you're alive?!" Jason proclaimed.

"I don't know if I'm touched or offended." I snarked back at Jason's tone. It was almost like he wished I _was _dead. I know total mood lightner.

"How the heck did that happen?" Leo asked a totally calculating scientific look passing on his face. Who couldn't resist an anomoly right?

"Dude you look like hell." Grover said with a grin.

"And...you...look...like a...ray...of...sunshine." I retorted with a grin.

Sadie looked confused. "Who...are you talking too?" She placed a hand on my forehead...which granted was already hot so doing that proved nothing.

"Oh...yeah..." They couldn't see the image I saw in my goggles. I weakly tapped my wrist and the image projected itself outward.

"Whoa! Who the heck are they?" Grover asked.

"We could ask ya' da' same question kiddo." Carter said.

Grover gulped and chuckled nervously. "Soo, yeah. Where the hell are ya."

"Can't...you...track...my...signal...if you're...linking me..."

"Oh...Oh yeah, duh." Grover glanced at Leo who nodded and ran off the screen.

"Anyway..." I coughed and Grover's expression turned to one of worry. "This is...Sadie...Nico...and Carter...they saved my life." I said gesturing to each of them in turn.

"Cool, thanks guys, for watchin' out for him, I'm sure he's been a real ass."

"Shut...up..."

"Got his position! He's almost back to camp!" Leo shouted from off screen.

Jason clapped his hands. "Okay. Sweet! Well then let's turn this sucker 'round and see if we can catch up to them, while they keep walkin back to camp. If we reach 'em we can give them a lift the rest of the way."

Grover rolled his eyes and nodded mouthing _"help me"._ I snickered at the screen and shook my head mouthing back _"He's all yours dude."_

"Well then. Let's move out!" Jason said standing tall and running his hand through his hair. I scoffed, as if he'd be a super hero. Talk about ego.

"Cya soon dude!" Grover said with a smile.

"Don't die on us!" Leo called from the drivers seat.

"I'll...try..." I replied

"Good!" And with that the link went dead.

The four of us were silent for a moment, before a grin spread out on my face. "Well...looks like...I'm gonna...live."

Sadie smiled and Carter patted my shoulder. Nico made a face and turned around. "Come on. Let's not waste anymore time then." He said before swiftly walking away.

I shot Sadie a confused glance and she just rolled her eyes following after him.

God that kid was more volatile than a bull with a flaming rod up its ass.

Oh crap, now that southern speech was affecting me too.

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_A/N: So what did ya think? Lol this chapter's been done for like 3 days I just haven't gotten round to posting it for whatever reason sorry D: So yeah like I said before you'll be getting a kinda big chapter next it'll hopefully make up for the lateness here lol. And yah what do you think of the characters? You like them? Anything else you wanna tell me? Is the pacing still okay? Too fast? Too slow? Anything confusing? Blah blah blah. Also yeah this chap was a pain to write its like 1k words shorter than normal cause I just got sick of it. Percy can't do shiz right now so his perspective was really REALLY boring to write. I hope you all like it though D; ANYWAY UNTIL A COUPLE HOURS!_


	7. Running

**__**_Ello all and thanks for the support! Again I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review and comment and share and watever and thanks for the support I hope you enjoy it!_

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**Chapter Seven: Running**

_**Nico**_

Anger ran through my veins, a harsh stabbing emotion, boiling like flames in my stomach, a sickening feeling that made me clench my fists and bite my lip. I watched as Percy conversed with his friends. How his demeanor lifted at the sound of their voices. Sadie and Carter stood, staring in awe, happily joining in the conversation while I...I stayed alone. _Il reietto. _I remained on the outside. I was the odd man out. I didn't have a place here. It was just a harsh reminder of how much I did not in fact belong. Percy had made me feel wanted. _Vivo._ He was one of the few people to show me any kindness in years. It hadn't had a place to live in Reyna's camp. I'd forgotten how good it had felt. I'd forgotten how much I'd craved for it, how it would lighten my mood even if I resisted. But now, now I saw it for what it was. A curse. A weakness. _Una palla al piede._ A thing to be scorned, not embraced. It only led to more heartache.

I remembered why I distanced myself from others. I never belonged and I never would. Trying to be something I wasn't would be just like a wolf trying on sheep's clothing. Sooner or later the world would find out what it truly was and there would be nothing left for it. For me. _Per me_. Loneliness was the only option for those who could only kill. Whose only memories were those of death. Humanity had long since escaped me.

I felt my face darken, my expression contorting into one of disgust. I felt sick to my stomach. Who'd I been kidding? Myself? Thinking I could have actually made a friend? It was impossible for me. I'd long since lost the capacity. I was unapproachable. I was better off alone. That way I couldn't be hurt. I only had to deal with my own ghosts, not the ghosts of people that others had thrown on me.

_Alle armi per la morte alla vita eterna._

The com link ended. The glow left behind on Percy's face made my skin crawl. Why could a few simple words from them make him smile? Why couldn't I do that? What was this gut wrenching feeling? I'd never felt anything so strong before. It was almost worse than the need to seek revenge. Was I jealous? Was that where this dirty feeling stemmed from? Why? Why had I fallen so quickly for a stranger? Why did I want this dorky brunette to like me? Why did I want him to be a friend? Was I that desperate for human interaction? My face scrunched further. It couldn't be. That was ridiculous. I didn't need anyone. I didn't need friends or others. I'd done just fine without anyone watching my back for the better part of two years. I didn't need anyone. I could watch out for myself. The emptiness I felt in my heart was a sensation I'd grown to love. To expect. _Per amare._

"Come on, let's go." I said, probably a tad more harshly than I'd intended, but it didn't matter, why would it? I turned quickly, my expression slipping. I couldn't control it, and I didn't want them to see. The sooner I got Percy to his camp the faster I could be on my way, finding my own answers. Living in my own hell. Dying in peace.

I walked quickly, down the lightening streets full of debris and dust, crushing fallen shards of glass, watching papers fly by; the cars of old overturned and brutalized; the world around me slowly crumbling away to nothing. A reflection of myself. A physical manifestation of my own internal battles. Every step brought about another fall, a building reduced to oblivion, the ground being eaten away by itself. No two moments looked the same. The earth had become a river, you could never step in the same one twice. I could hear Sadie calling for me to slow down, I knew she'd probably try talking to me, but I didn't want to listen; I just wanted to be left alone. What more could she say to me? What more could she do to even try to persuade me? I knew my place, and it wasn't with others.

Less than an hour we'd be there, we'd lay eyes on the camp and my burden would be lifted. I didn't know where I would go next but did it really matter? As long as I got food I wouldn't have to worry about dying, no man made weapon could hurt me, only Adamantium could lessen the power of the virus in my veins and even that only made it so I didn't hear the voices, it left me invulnerable. And that meant I wasn't normal.

Of course a big question would be: Do I really want to be like everyone else?

Was it even possible?

I feared that it was too late, that I had fallen too far into darkness, the shadows, the killer. _L'assassino._ I didn't think I could really fully re-assimilate into a "_normal"_ human society. Not when the memories of my parents were just hazy images and faint touches; secret scents that no one else could replicate. Not when the most prominent memory of my sister was of a flame eyed maniac bent on burning the world to the ground. Razing it to nothing. _Distruzione assoluta_. Not when all I had left to drive me forward was fear and hate. Fear of what lay ahead of me. Hate for what the world had done to me.

Wind blew in sporadic bursts, forcing my bangs into my eyes. I grimaced and brushed them from my face, mouth set in a thin line, dark brown eyes focused ahead, lost in my own thoughts. I hadn't talked to anyone in the past thirty minutes and no one tried to talk to me, Sadie had given up swiftly after it was obvious that nothing she said would get me to open up to her. I only made sure I stayed in their line of sight so they wouldn't get lost.

I glanced up at the overcast sky, the wind growing more and more powerful, wilder, angrier; unpredictable, the temperature dropped dramatically. The clouds darkened, large nimbus's speckled black and gray, swirling around in the heavens, the poor, measly excuse for light that had been able to filter through slowly finding itself leeched away. Swallowed by the dark. A storm. _Una tempesta. _How fast the weather could change. One moment full of light the next utterly and completely untouchable.

Just like the human spirit.

Just like me.

Tell me do you fear the night?

I looked at the street, taking in the fork in the road; two routes remained open, the third blocked by a fallen building, overturned and broken, floors and levels stacked haphazardly over one another. I took in the name of the boulevard, its sign hanging lopsidedly on its post, words almost unreadable from rust and weather. I made a face, the image of the map in my head; it overlapped perfectly with the scene in front of me. Thanks to the fallen skyscraper we couldn't take the most direct route towards the camp, making what would have been just a two and a half mile walk into an almost four. _Meraviglioso._

I gazed up at the sky again, it was almost black, then back to the scene in front of me, biting my lip. I shook my head and released my lip from the clutches of my teeth; I needed to stop doing that, it was becoming an unhealthy habit, one that I thought I had gotten rid of years ago but had resurfaced in the past months. I sighed, at least that was the only habit to resurface.

"What are you waiting for?" Sadie placed a hand on my shoulder and I jumped. "You've been standing here for almost five minutes."

"N-nothing, I-I'm just-" I took a breath and ran a hand down my face. "Just wondering if we should stop or not, storms are dangerous to travel in."

Sadie tapped her chin with her finger and glanced up at the sky, murmuring her agreement. "Well..." She began. The first drops began to fall.

I blew a strand of hair from in front of my eyes, feeling the drops fall against my scalp and flesh, a cold touch that threatened to grow more powerful, my face hardening into that unreadable expression that brokered no argument that was always associated with me. "There's our answer." I began to walk away. "Come on."

"R-right." Sadie waved Carter over and the four of us made our way down the now wet streets, everything dyed a shade darker, our steps now against black.

Truly a road to hell.

_Strada per l'inferno._

Within seconds the rain was pouring down, lightning streaking through the sky, thunder clapping above with a reverberating crack. _Una forza universale_. A force so strong I could see glass quiver in its wake. Our backs hunched against the onslaught, our clothing plastered to our skin, my hair welded to my forehead, my eyes squinted against the gusting winds. It felt like we were in a monsoon, a hurricane, a typhoon. My senses were disoriented, my body was freezing, my screams for the others eaten by the air that howled around me, a demon in the sky.

I couldn't see in front of me, I couldn't see behind me, I could only feel the cold, the sharp ping of water slamming against my flesh, strong as bullets, large drops of agony from the sky. I felt it laugh, thunder reverberating again, a feeling that shook me to my very core, and it tossed a gust at us, slamming into us from the side, flinging objects in our wake.

Glass tried to cut me, chunks of cement knocked me off balance, the wind taking that opportunity to fling me against a wall. The storm was toying with us, knocking us along like ping pong balls, smiling maniacally down at us, watching the four ants drown in its play pen_. E 'stato il diavolo_. I had never felt a stronger hate for nature than in that moment.

"Sadie!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had to find the others, Sadie wasn't like me, none of them were, if they got hit by any of those projectiles they'd be pulverized. I had to find them, I had to get us somewhere safe. I could _not _lose another life entrusted to me. I failed with my sister. I failed with my father, my mother; I wouldn't fail again.

"Nico!" I heard her shout, high and frantic, the storm had come on so suddenly, we hadn't had time to prepare.

"DON'T STOP TALKING!" I screamed back. I had to find her, I had to find her before the storm swallowed her whole. I had to find her and not let go. I had to find her and take her somewhere safe, I wouldn't live through the guilt of yet another innocent life stained on my bloody fingers.

I looked around blindly, searching for her form, her words hadn't lasted long enough for me to get an idea of where they came from. Above? Below? Left? Right? Beside me? In front? Behind? The wind only grew stronger, any figure that I might have been able to make out was now obscured beyond recognition.

"Sadie! WHERE ARE YOU?!" My head whipped left, then right, I didn't trust my eyes, I had to rely on my ears. I felt blind, and it was scary.

"OVER HERE!" My face turned towards the sound of her voice; so fast that if I was still normal I'd have gotten whiplash.

I took a step forward in the direction of her voice. "IS Carter WITH YOU?!"

A pause. "YEAH! HE'S BLOCKING Percy AND ME FROM THE WORSE OF THE STUFF FLYING AROUND."

"_Merda!_" I took another few steps, back hunched against the wind, I felt glass cut into my jeans, rocks slam into my sides but I kept walking towards the sound of Sadie's voice. "IS HE OKAY?"

Another pause. This one longer, I began to panic. "I'm fine ya' peepsqueak! I can handle a few lil' rocks kid!" Carter's deep bass voice called out to me, almost drowned out by the call of thunder from above; I let out a sigh of relief. If he could talk he couldn't be in too bad shape. I risked a confident breath.

Their voices were getting louder. Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. I could feel my chest tightening in anticipation and my breathing picked up. I reached out with my hands, fingers clammy and wet, pale as ivory, reaching out, hoping to grab onto flesh, onto something solid. I was close. I was close. I was close. I was close. I know I was close. My fingers trembled. I chewed on my lip frantically, with abandon, I didn't care about habits right now. I just had to find them. I could feel my nerves frying. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come o-

A pair of slender arms wrapped around my waist and yanked me against their chest. I cried out and elbowed the figure in the gut; I heard the air rush from their lungs with a slight whumph, and their grip loosened.

"Nico!" I turned. "God _dammit! _It's just me, Sadie! Calm down!"

I stopped struggling. "_Oh dio! _Sorry. Reflex."

She scoffed and rubbed her stomach. "Some reflex, damn you got an arm on you."

I shrugged and she sighed. "Come on, Carter knocked a door down for us, we're all drying off now."

I nodded and let her drag me back the way she came. I noticed she had a piece of rope wrapped around her waist, one she was now reeling in and following. Clever. _Il mito del labirinto._ The wisdom of the Greeks saved the day again.

Sadie pulled me into the building and finally let me go, slamming the door up against the frame, pushing some old desks and cabinets against it to keep it locked in place. The building must have been an office of some sort at one time or another. Light flickered in the distance and Sadie took my hand, leading me towards it. Voices drifted from the room as we approached, laughter, robust and full.

"-and then, well, she screamed and slapped me across da' face, _Bam!_ I dun' think I'd ever been more embarrassed in mah life. Girl can take care o' herself." More laughter traveled towards my ears, though now that I was closer I could hear the faint wheeze and cough behind it.

Sadie and I rounded the corner and stood in the door frame. Sadie cleared her throat. "Good to see you two getting along." I was almost sure she was being sarcastic but if she was it was just barely. "Anyway I found the bloody kid, the bastards got himself an arm."

"I said I was sorry," I mumbled, pulling my hair in front of my eyes and covering the worse of my blush.

"What happened?" Carter asked, I could feel the threat laying just underneath those words.

Sadie shrugged. "He thought I was some crazy stalker and elbowed me in the gut." Carter opened his mouth to say something but Sadie put up a hand cutting him off. "I'm fine big guy, remember?_ 'Girl can take care o' herself''_" The tall man mumbled something and shot me a look but said nothing else. "Well then, time to get cozy." She turned her attention to me, her hair plastered against her head just like all of ours. "Nico. Strip."

My jaw dropped. "W-what?"

Sadie began pulling her shirt over her head. "We all need to dry ourselves off and it's not like we have a change of clothes." The shirt fell to the floor and she began un-clipping her bra. "So we decided to just go nude, not like anything is gonna happen in here."

I averted my gaze. "What are you doing!"

"Nicky, Nicky, Nicky, there's nothing to be ashamed of. If anyone should be embarrased it should be me, it's not like I have a wanker."

"She's right ya' know. Ya' gonna catch a cold in those wet clothes o' yours." I shot Carter a glare but quickly looked away, I felt my blush deepen. They. Were. All. Naked.

"Oh god." I groaned, running a hand down my face, "I'm not stripping, I'm not gonna catch a cold, aren't you worried about any of them staring?" I tossed her a quick look out of the corner of my eye, she was just in her panties now, I guess she was going to keep those on at least.

"No." She shrugged and grinned. "You aren't interested, Percy's pretty out of it thanks to that fever, and well...Carter...he can stare all he wants." She walked over to me and placed her hands on my shoulders; I could feel her breast press against my back. My back stiffened and I grew if possible even redder. "Now then..." Her hold tightened. "TIME TO GET YOU OUT OF THOSE CLOTHES!"

She yanked my jacket off and I growled pulling it back up before turning to glare at her. "Sadie! Stop it! I told you I'm not going to str-" My words caught in my throat and I felt my eyes widen, drawn to the flickering in the center of the room. I finally saw what was giving us light. Hell's ambassador. The devil's friend. My greatest fear.

Fire.

Sadie stopped, her smile dropping and she lifted my face. "Hey, Nicky, are you okay? What's wrong?"

I gulped. "Fire." I whispered. Her brow scrunched with worry and I felt my knees giving out.

Fire.

Oh god fire.

My eyes were locked on the flickering light. Red. Orange. Yellow. White. Repeat. Fire. Flames. Unpredictable, uncontrollable, just like my sister had been. I stared into it. I heard her laugh. I saw her eyes. The flickering. The evil glee. The last moments. I felt sick. I felt a low moan reach my lips. The ground had somehow come up to catch me. Shivering. I shook. Air wasn't flowing properly into my lungs.

Fire.

Not again. Not again. Not again.

It grew brighter. It grew bigger. I closed my eyes. It wasn't real. Make it go away. Make it go away. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It didn't matter though. It followed. I felt its heat. Its scorching touch. It wanted me. It wanted to devour me. It wanted to eat me. It didn't care that I hated it. It was evil. No. No. No. No. No. Clammy hands. Pale flesh. Trembling lips. Whimpers of fear. I pushed myself against the wall.

The heat followed. The laughing grew louder. I felt its touch. I screamed.

Fire.

_ Bodies flew through the air, landing with bone shattering thumps. Mangled limbs, broken off and twisted, some burned, others ripped, blood arching in the sky, painting the ground crimson. Fire erupted in sporadic bursts everywhere. A manic laughter filled the sky as screams, young and old, masculine and femimine, were wrenched from their victims mouths. A lone figure stood amongst the chaos, drinking in the pain and suffering of those around her. Conducting the hell storm she had created, a sadistic symphony of human bodies._

_ A young boy sat in the corner crying, covering his ears, a dagger laying in his lap and squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't understand why this was happening. One moment his sister was smiling happily, the next they were being attacked and she had become...become a monster. _

_ Nico pulled farther into himself, wincing as the high psychotic wailing his sister now called a laugh pierced through his ears. He cried harder, scared for the ones that attacked them thinking they could get food, scared for what had happened to his sister, and scared for his own safety. What if his sister turned on him next?_

_ She wouldn't do that would she?_

_ She promised she would always look out for him._

_ He was only twelve, he wasn't ready to be all on his own yet._

_ Suddenly, Nico's dagger fell off his lap, clattering to the floor, sliding about a yard away. Nico gasped and opened his eyes crawling forward to retrieve the object. It was a gift. It was a weapon. It was the only thing that let him remember his sister's smile. He felt safe when he held it. Protected._

_ The young Italian grabbed the blade and held it close to his chest, instantly feeling better. Calmer. Slipping it back in its sheath he began making his way back to where he'd been hiding,behind a pile of barrels. But that's when it happened._

_ Fire erupted around him._

_ It all happened in the span of a few seconds. He felt the heat first, the molten feeling of being burned alive. His arm hair singed off, his flesh began to dry out and crack. For a moment he didn't know what was happening. The pain had come on so suddenly, he didn't know what to make of it. But then the fire came. The inferno engulfed him in a sudden whoosh. His body screamed in agony. His mouth echoed the feeling. No. No. No he was dying? His sister was hurting him? It couldn't be happening._

_ "Bia!" He screamed._

_ Fire engulfed his throat._

I gasped, clawing at my neck, breathing ragged, trying in vain to put out the fire I felt burning inside of me and shot off the bed, my arms propping me up against the cold hard mattress. My mouth was dry and my body shook, sweat pooling off my body in a steady flow. _Oh dio_. Oh god. I could still feel the flames. I could feel its horrible touch, the way it grated down my throat, burning me.

I could still see it. I could still _smell_ it. The taste of smoke, the acrid stench, choking me, filling my lungs with black; the scent of human flesh roasting. I winced as something sharp jabbed at my elbows and I looked down, moving a rock from underneath me. My brow scrunched in confusion. Not a bed... Then... The ground? What? I looked at the source of warmth. Not blankets. Dried clothes, jackets and shirts and pants, all piled on top of me. What was going on? My world was spinning, and I tried to get up only then realizing that I was naked, and thanks to that cold. That's why everything felt rougher. Someone had taken off my clothes. But who? And where was I?

I groaned and rested my head in the palm of my hand. Who was I? _Nico Di Angelo. _What was my purpose? To survive. To find my sister. To right the wrongs I'd committed Where was I going?_ To Chiron's camp. _Why? _Because...Percy, a member of that camp, got ill while following me. _Where was I? I looked up. I didn't have an answer for that. I couldn't remember. I made a face. That wasn't good. Whatever happened was blocked from my memory. A large space just blank. Empty. The last thing I remembered was elbowing Sadie in the gut.

Good. That was good. I still remembered her at least. And Carter. So whatever happened was fairly recent.

I looked around me. I couldn't hear the storm anymore and pale gray light filtered through cracks in the workings of the building; it was over. I let out a sigh of relief, that meant we could be on our way soon. I felt my eyebrows move together in confusion. But what had happened to make me black out?

I took in my surroundings, Percy sat with his back turned to me, tan shoulders sagging with an invisible weight, his brown hair just touching below the nape of his neck. I gulped, eyes roaming lower, taking in his exposed back, tone and muscular, strong even with the signs of fatigue he wore from sickness. I realized I hadn't really seen what he looked like until now, if he turned then I could see his face...

I shook my head and looked away, cheeks turning a slight red. What was I doing? Staring at someone's naked body. Their butt? I licked my lips and turned away. _Davvero? _I was not that guy. I wasn't that hormonal teen who oogled and drooled the moment a naked body was put in front of me. No. That wasn't me. _Smettila._

I cleared my throat. "Where're my clothes?" My voice came out raspy and raw, as if I had been inhaling smoke. I shivered.

The others turned, Percy first, who wore an amiable grin on his face. I wouldn't meet his eyes, did he know that I was staring? "Over...here...by...the...uh...well..." He paused and looked at Carter and Sadie for support, they all exchanged a glance. Something was up. Something happened, that they didn't want to tell me.

"By the what?" I asked darkly.

Sadie cleared her throat and rolled her eyes when she noticed neither of the men would answer. "The fire." My eyes closed in on the pile of ash that lay next to my now dry clothes. I felt my throat constricting just at the thought of the flames. I gripped the edges of the jackets around me hand, balling them in my hands, trying to stop my shaking, I didn't want them to see me like this. So that's what happened. They started a fire. That's what made me black out. "Don't you remember?" Sadie asked.

I shook my head slowly. "No." I rasped out. "It's not something I try to."

Sadie gave me a questioning stare, but decided against whatever she was going to ask. Probably: Why?

I'm glad she didn't.

I couldn't tell that story right now.

"Pass me my clothes," I called over to them, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

Percy reached them first. "Here..." He chucked them at me. "Pass...me...mine..."

I nodded and quickly threw him his giant onesie, tossing my shirt over my head. Hopefully he didn't notice the rouge on my cheeks. Hopefully I put my shirt of fast enough, of course, though, that would be wishful thinking, blush showed on me like blood. I just hoped no one would comment.

"Oh, pass me mine." Sadie called next.

"An' mine." Carter echoed.

I made a face and obligied, handling Sadie's bra with care. Why was she out of that anyway? Did I even want to know? Probably not.

We all commenced dressing, everyone unconciously agreeing to turn around and give each other some semblence of privacy even though there were no dividers, I guess everyone knew I was uncomfortable with my body. Probably came up before I blacked out.

"How long was I out?" I asked, slipping into my jacket. I pouted, the poor item was in tatters; that storm had done a number on it and Carter's bullet holes had only gotten bigger. I sighed, I'd have to get rid of it. I'd really liked that jacket.

"Just a few," Carter said, "Long 'nough for da' storm ta' pass."

"We...just...finished...using...the last...of your masks...battery life...so mine could re...charge..." Percy put in.

I nodded. "Okay." I turned, everyone was just about done, I strapped my gun and blade to myself. There. "Let's go."

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We stood at the top of a large building, one that, thanks to the Earth, had now been shifted to stand below us, forming a valley that dipped down into the ground, the bowels of our planet. I wet my lips in anticipation, we were almost there. I could see it now, we were at the threshold of the camp, all we had to do was scale down this building and we'd be there, our quest would be done, Percy would be saved. I'd be rid of him.

I glanced in the direction of the boy, almost an hour had passed and he was looking worse than ever, we hadn't run into his friends, but that was understandable, they'd have had to get out of the storm too. I glanced down at the surrounding area; how'd a car even get out to start with? It didn't seem possible, I didn't see a road that led upwards anywhere.

I sighed, it was time for action, it was time to stop debating. I looked at the roof in front of me, it sloped inwards itself, dropping onto the following floor. The building was only about four or five stories tall, in various stages of disrepair, and probably our best bet to getting down into the valley in one piece.

"Come on." I said, gesturing for the others to follow.

The sound of footsteps followed me and delicately I slid down through the opening. We were lucky, their wasn't much a drop, most of the roof had caved into a slide to the floor. I glanced behind me, watching as the others followed.

"Here," Sadie said, handing me a small LED pocket flashlight. It was the most advanced thing we had that we could use. A little outdated by almost two hundred years, but still profiecient. I don't know how she got them.

"Thanks," I grumbled, flipping it on and scouring the area around me. "Try and find the stairs."

"Ovah' here!" Carter called a few moments later.

Sadie and I turned towards the sound of his voice and the two of us pried the door open. A strange tingling began to fill my gut, almost like an invisible rope tugging me forward. It felt almost like... But no. That couldn't be. I shook my head, I must've been going crazy. I flashed my light down the staircase, they looked sturdy enough, a few were cracked or missing, but luckily they were cement and would still hold, other than that it was just dusty. It looked safe enough.

I started walking down.

The pulling only got stronger the lower we went. It started as a faint tug, but slowly it grew into something stronger, more of a yank than a pull, a weird buzzing started in my head too, like static, like voices I could hear, but were just barely out of focus, like on an old radio. What was going on with me? I stumbled as a particulary viscious pull yanked me forward and I made a face, tilting my head slightly like that would clear the static in my head.

"Are you okay?" Sadie asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Fine." I grunted out and kept walking, brushing her hand to the side; I heard her sigh.

We were almost down, we'd just passed the second floor marker when we heard them. The first of the Animate.

We all froze.

It was a light shuffling at first, the Animate never made noise, never groaned, or moaned in pain even if they wanted to, the only thing you could use to identify them was the sound of their shuffling; a sound like sandpaper against wood. The sound of their walking.

I felt my stomach hit the floor. "Run," I whispered, dread creeping up inside of me, the pull was getting stronger along with the noise. I shouldn't have ignored it. I shouldv'e known what that feeling meant, it never accompanied something good. _Ero messaggero del diavolo. _Of course hell would follow.

"What-" Sadie began.

"Run!" I shouted. "Animate." I whispered.

Sadie's eyes widened and she nodded, yanking Carter with her. I only had to hope they were regulated to this floor. The first of the Animate appeared and I yanked out my gun, quickly firing two rounds into their lifeless skulls. Corpses of rotting flesh and decaying limbs, some with chunks of skin missing revealing maggot infested insides. It was enough to make the weak at heart sick. But I didn't have time to think about that. I just had to get rid of them.

Another wave appeared in front of me and I leashed out another round of bullets, all of them hitting where I wanted them to, my marksmanship made perfect with time and practice. I had to hold them off, they couldn't hurt me, but if they got past me the others would be in trouble.

Sadie screamed.

_Merda!_

I shot another few animate, head, knee, heart, neck, and ran down the stairs two at a time, not looking back, hearing the shuffling behind me. This wasn't good, the pull was getting even stronger, I felt it tugging from everywhere. We were surrounded.

"Sadie!" I called and shot one trying to bite her in the head.

Sadie screamed as blood splattered against her skin and she fell on her bottom, scooting away as fast as possible. She wasn't used to this kind of violence.

I took in the room, it was full of Animate, I let loose the last of my bullets and dropped my gun, switching to my knife. I heard the Animate behind me, I saw the ones in front of me, all of them moving closer, closer. I glanced at my companions, Sadie sobbing, Carter looking grim, Percy looking almost dead.

_You can save them._ The static lifted. I ignored the voice.

_You know what you have to do._ The voice said.

_Shut up._ I screamed in my head. I didn't need this, not right now, not when I needed my focus the most.

_Give in. You know you have to. It's the only way._

_ No._

_ Yes._

_ NO!_

_ Yes._

I gritted my teeth. _Raze it, _the voice whispered. _RAZE IT!_

I gasped and felt my knife clatter to the floor. I let out a choked sob. My body was burning. My blood was on fire. Oh god. The pain. I fell to the floor. My vision started blurring.

_Raze it._

I lifted a hand. The Animate stopped in their tracks

_ Raze it._

I spun it around so my palm faced the air. My body screamed in protest, I felt the Adamantium fighting against me. Fighting against the virus.

_ Raze it!_

I squeezed.

I Animates bodies jerked, inhumanly, limbs cracking off suddenly, spines stiffening, bodies frozen in place by an invisible force, they screamed. A sound left their mouths, a horrible wailing inhuman thing. I tightened my hold, my vision started bleeding red.

_RAZE IT!_

"R-run." I growled out, covering half my face, refusing to look my companions in the eye. I felt a pulse running through me, unifying me with the Animate. The beat of my heart echoed around the room.

_RAZE IT!_

"RUN!"

A truck screeched into the building. Screaming ensued. Sadie ran. Carter followed. Something went off. An explosion maybe. I felt my connection snap, the Adamantium won. I felt my body slip away.

_Raze it._

Everything went black.

_A/N: Okay! And scene! Woot Woot! Chapter 7 done and with this the beginning comes to a close! Next meet the mysterious villians of this story and more. Also do you feel pacing is okay? I feel like this chapter was kinda like...maybe fast? I re-read it like 5x and it seems to flow well but...yeah idk. FEEDBACK. Also will you all prefer to have the next POV chapter be from Nico again so you know what happened to him? Or from Percy's? I'll ask again at the end of the next chapter. Also...who actually looks at the Italian dictionary at the end? Like if you all really want it I'll put it in for you but if you don't really care I won't bother lol. So yeah! LOTS OF QUESTIONS! SUSPENSE FEELS! AND MORE! THANKS AGAIN FOR THE SUPPORT! Also who's your fav char so far? Nico? Percy? Sadie? Carter? Dale? Dante? Jason? Grover? I can't wait to start the camp life segment :3 New problems and such will arise and loves will blossom~ Do you like the Carter x Sadie relations? _


	8. Watching

_IMPORTANT! READ THE A/N AT THE BOTTOM. Important questions there! PLEASE REVIEW! COMMENT! LIKE WHATEVER! lol_

**Chapter Eight: Watching**

_**The Golem**_

The Golem watched events unfold with an excitement it hadn't felt in a long time. It couldn't imagine its luck, it being the Golem reject, the failure, the screw up that only messed things up, at finding the eleventh member of the Pantheon. The brother of Nemesis (formally known as Bianca Di Angelo), Nico Di Angelo; they'd be most pleased with the news. To be one step closer to there goal of a new and pure human race. One without the plague known as Lesser Humans. The scum of the Earth, only good enough to be used when they were dead; as Animate.

When that happened, when the Pantheon finally achieved its goal, then...then Golems could roam freely, without fear of being shunned or shot at by those who didn't understand them. They could finally truly live. To be. It was why they agreed to help those fire eyed humans, they just wanted to be on the winning side, the side that would give them the most perks.

Everyone loves comfort right?

The Golem watched in one part fascination and two parts horror as the young Di Angelo's power sprang from him. It could see the invisible threads connecting the boy to the Animate, giving him control over them. It was incredible, the boy had power over life, to manipulate their bodies...the Golem couldn't imagine what he'd be able to do when he completed his transformation...but...something...something was not right. The golem could feel it, it was why he had yet to approach the young Pantheon member, he had a feeling the Di Angelo would not welcome his arrival with joy.

Something was fighting against the Virus inside of him, burning its way through the boy's body, fighting the Virus into submission. He could see it through the pain that showed throughout his young face. In how his eyes where flickering between their kalidoscope of red, orange, yellow and white, the color of flames, to his normal dark brown. He was resisting, and the Golem had the feeling the Virus would lose. But how? Why? Something like that had never happened before in the process of turning into a Panthoneon.

Nico Di Angelo gasped suddenly, and the Golem saw the invisible strings snap, the Animate crumpling to a heap all around them while a manaic in a jeep drove into the building, flinging grenades and screaming bloody murder. The Golem ducked and hid deeper in the shadows. It was glad it's form was made of rock, it was able to blend in with the surroundings just fine. Some of his other friends like the the technology Golem, the one they call "T", if it'd been in the Golem's position it'd have stood out like a black sheep in a flock of white.

The boy's in the vehicle jumped out and dashed over to the tall broad tanned man of color who was holding their injured companion. No one was paying attention to Di Angelo.

The injured boy coughed, "Where's...Nico?" Ok so someone was paying attention...but...not on the truck.

The Golem grinned and began slinking over to the vehicle. It might as well stake out what their enemies camp looked like. His entire platoon of Animate were destroyed, the more information he had the greater the reward would be for himself.

"What da' hell was that?" The Tan Man asked as the golem climbed under the truck.

"Whatcha' mean man?" The one blonde asked.

"Da' Animate, they screamed aftah', Nico flipped out, an' Animate nevah' scream." The group was silent for a moment, all eyes training on the now unconcious boy, "Just what is he?"

"Human..." The mouse-haired woman whispered, the first thing she'd said since getting splattered with blood, "Just like he said. Whatever it is he did, he did it to protect us."

"Get...him...in...the...truck." The Injured boy commaded much to the blondes annoyance, the Golem had a feeling the two didn't get along. Interesting. The curly haired latino and skinny African-American, exchanged a glance, before the African-American shrugged and bent to lift up Nico. They made to return to the truck and the Golem quickly slid underneath it, hanging onto the bottom and pressing itself flush against it.

It saw the shadows and heard the voices as the group approached, the Golem gulped and held on tighter and it felt the vehicle shake and tremble with the weight of its passengers. Soon the truck started, an ancient thing, it still used wheels, how in the world it was still even remotely working was beyond it, but at least it meant the Golem could hang on. If it was a more modern vehicle then it would just blast him off the bottom, probably vaporized. Yeah you just had to enjoy electrofusion generators.

The truck drove on, bumping along the long since decrepit road, and calling it a rroad was being generous. The thing was hardly drivable, barely able to be called a path, and the Golem got the brunt of it all, feeling other rocks jab into it; at one point the truck drove at an angle that sheared off its entire back layer. It whimpered in pain and hoped against all hope that the drive wouldn't last much longer. The poor Golem had tried to memorize the route from the fallen building but gave up after the first couple of painful bumps. It was hard to concentrate on map making when you were busy trying not to scream and hanging onto the bottom of an exhaust spewing vehicle.

Finally they stopped and the Golem sighed in relief as it felt the others disembark. It stayed there for a moment, waiting until it was absolutely certain that all of them had gone before tentatively releasing its hold on the truck. Wobbling unsteadily on its legs it peeked around the wheel of the truck and took in its surroundings.

The camp was...not what it had expected, it wasn't like the others it had come across on its...travels. Though perhaps Crusades would be a more appropriate term. It was sophisticated, it had technology, a thin veil encompassed the entire area, one that apparently purified the air considering the fact no one was wearing a mask and it knew none of these people were Pantheoneon. It seemed like the camp was stable, it wasn't a group of crudely made huts ready to be taken down at any moment, they had set up a steady life here. The sun shone brightly, apparently that field around the camp dispelled the clouds that encompassed the rest of the world, and people were busy at work, some growing crops from seeds they must have saved from the apocalypse, others building homes out a strange glossy white material the Golem had never seen before.

It screamed order. It screamed civilization, stabilty. It screamed sterile.

Everything just seemed so...clean. It was a Utopia in otherwise what would've been hell.

The Golem stared in awe, almost forgetting it was in fact hiding, quickly catching itself before it stepped further out of the shadows.

The group he had hitched a ride with stood waiting in what could probably be the equivalent to a town square, they all seemed nervous, the burly colored man holding the injured boy and the mouse-haired girl especially. They were the outsiders and probably hadn't seen anything like this in a very long time. They were out of their element.

"Ah! There you all are," A tall man with startling white hair and tinted sunglasses said with a broad and welcoming smile, approaching the group quickly. He wore a long white labcoat, and his face seemed young yet at the same time much, much older than all of them combined, it was a strange combination to say the least. He gave off an aura that radiated power, fair yet just, utterly charming. The Golem could see how the strange man could get others to follow him, his personality was intoxicating. "I was worried we lost another one of our own after you all didn't return yesterday, that and the storm..." The man lost his smile for a moment, a deeper darkness flickering over his face, one that suddenly made him seem dangerous. Very much so. But it quickly passed and the smile was back in place.

The man turned to the two newcomers and held out a hand. "Hello I don't think we've met, I'm Chiron, leader of this tiny little wonderland, or ah, I suppose most call it Faction now a'days hmm? In any case, I thank you both for getting my boys back here safely."

The girl smiled back and shook the hand extended to her. "It wasn't problem, though we didn't do much, Nico did more than us, we only found them this morning."

Chiron stiffened for a moment, a minute thing that would go un noticed by most but not by the carefully trained eye of a golem. "Nico you say?"

"Yes? Is...that a problem?"

"No...just, where is he?" Chiron asked recovering quickly, taming the sudden wild energy that seemed to flow from him.

"Still in' da truck," The burly man said gesturing towards the vehicle, Chiron turned his attention to it and the Golem quickly backed up, hiding behind the wheel. "He passed out aftah' he got rid of da' Animate. He did somethin' real strange to 'em. I ain't never seen anythin' like it."

The Golem poked his head back around the wheel in time to see Chiron look away. "I see..." He looked thoughtful and snapped his fingers, getting the attention of two blond boys standing a little ways off. It hadn't noticed them standing there before, were they like guards? They certainly seemed tough enough and angry enough for the job. One of them even had a nasty looking scar running down one side of his face. Perfect for the role. "Octavian, Akes, get the boy from the truck." The two men nodded, the one with the scar scowling slightly, and pushed themselves from the wall they had been leaning on. Chiron turned his attention back to the truck and this time the Golem wasn't fast enough. Chiron saw it, it knew he did by the small smile that crept on his lips, one that almost seemed to be anticipating something. But what?

Something flashed minutely behind the mans glasses a quick and bright blue, the Golem's knees wobbled slightly in fear. Suddenly this man seemed more like a snake than anything else. It could see the cunning behind those glasses, and terror like a physical force washed through its body. Chiron looked away and the Golem collapsed in shock, shaking violently, before getting up and running in the opposite direction.

"Now then, perhaps we should continue the rest of this conversation inside? There I can properly analyze the state of both the boys."

The Golem continued to run, it wanted to get away.

And it had to make it back to the Pantheon.

It had a lot to tell them.

_A/N:_

_OOOKAYY! Sorry for the delay, it's been a long week, just finishing up my health class + other shit in life *sigh* anyway so here you go, the next chapter, you've know met another part of the villians group the Golems, and learned partially of there agenda, yeah for plot. You've also FINALLY reached the camp and met Chiron~ Fun guy huh? Wanna keep you're eye on him? We shall see. So what do you think of this chapter. I'm also probably gonna try REALLY hard to make sure the camp doesn't sound like Hitome-chan's from Coding and Codeine...I hope it doesn't, they really aren't supposed to be that similiar just in the fact that its a place of stability in a world of chaos...but yeah I'm worried that the two might parallel...Anyway! So IMPORTANT QUESTION! I'm unsure as to whether I should make next chapter another Nico chapter or follow what is technically supposed to be and make it a Percy. This is because I'm sure u all want answers when it comes to Nico, and Percy would mainly be getting to know the camp lol. Also expect love issues to arise between Percy/Nico, gotta spice up the angsty drama there...and yeah soooo WHATCHA THINK? Like it? Nico or Percy next chapter, you decide. And yeah I hope you like where my story is going. Also don't expect Percy or Nico to jump each others bones anytime soon, I'm a sucker for romantic buildups sooo yeah no banging on there front for awhile lol. Might have some Carter/Sadie action though._


	9. Healing

_ANND HERE IT IS CHAP 9! You know the drill review, comment, blah blah blah. Yeah OOC ahead liek alot. Yeah DON'T KILL ME!_

**Chapter Nine: Healing**

_**Percy**_

Shit.

Everything hurt. So. So. So. _So_, much. Like it was the worse bitch on this side of the moon, like _dude_...excruciatingly so. Just..._uggggh!_

Of course that's when I noticed was that I wasn't dead.

Ha. ha...ha...wow...well...YIPPEE...yeah...

Hmmm, I guess that probably sounds...well...granted was...maybe, just...kinda backwards, but heck, if you woke up with a flaming rod up your ass you'd probably feel that first and think_ holy shit I'm alive _second. Actually you might be thinking _holy shit why aren't I dead _instead if there really was a flaming rod up there. But hey, that's just a really like extreme case of...waking up to...er...pain? Of course there wasn't a flaming rod up _my _butt, cause that would probably defeat the purpose of healing me, but hey it's an example, to, you know, make sure you like get my pain. Cause...it hurt. Everywhere. Alot.

I groaned. Maybe. Emphasis on maybe, there was no written or recorded proof that that actually happened and I'm not gonna give any confirmation of that here for sure. Anyway like I said. Everything hurt and I mean. Like. Ev-er-y-where. So much so that I _might _have let out a _slightly_ girlish and unmanly whimper. But hey I'm not saying I did. It was just a you know, possibility. It was more than likely you know those...machines...that whir...and stuff...Yeah...Anyway!

Fuck.

Maybe it would have been better if I'd died. This was worse than when I was sick. Wait..was I still sick? What? Maybe. Maybe I'm just even worse and am now at the doors of death? If so that really sucks cause like I thought death was meant to be all peaceful and shit and this was...no...not ideal. Can't say that I'd have wished this on myself...or well...almost no one else. I could think of a few people that would deserve this but...let's not get into that. Besides, no...that couldn't be, I'd seen Chiron heal people worse off than me and I knew we'd reached Chiron's camp so...I guess that meant the pain meant I was alive. Great.

I groaned.

Wonderful.

I love feeling like shit so early in the morning.

Wait, was it morning?

I cracked open an eye and instantly shut it again, letting out another groan. Good god it was bright out there, like dude, I felt like I was coming off a hangover. Another story I'm not going to go into. My head was throbbing like crazy and everything just seemed so...so..._bright._

I heard something scrape across the floor and the sound of shuffling feet; I sighed then squinted my eyes open again, gritting my teeth against the pain, willing the tears to subside and for my vision to focus.

"Hey dude, you awake?" It was Grover.

I shook my head, nope, definitely not awake, just you know...alien eye syndrome? That totally exists right?...Whoops moved my head, make that...alien...face...? Syndrome?

"Dude, you're answering me, I know you're awake."

I closed my eyes again, I didn't need to look anymore, Grover's image was already burned into my skull for better or worse. I'd vote worse, who'd want to remember his ugly ass?...That was a joke by the way. Ha. Ha. Ha? Yeah...Anyway. "Shut up, I feel like shit."

"I guess that answers my next question."

"What?" God my voice was hoarse.

"How ya' feeling dude?"

I shot him a look, trying to glare and probably failing miserably.

He laughed. "Exactly, that's why I wasn't gonna ask."

"Fuck off, this is totally, not funny dude."

"Come off it man, you know you love me." I could feel his evil grin spreading on his lips. I groaned.

"I do not, dude I've known you since my diaper days, that's just awkward."

I opened my eyes again and this time I could keep them open, the light wasn't so bright anymore. Grover rolled his eyes, then faked hurt. "But Percy, I've loved you! What happened to all the good times together!"

"Drama queen."

"Bitch."

"Slut."

"Whore."

"Queer."

"Pssh, look who's talkin'. You're the one with the man-crush."

"Ha. You're the one who blushes around naked men. You need to be more comfortable with yourself dude."

"Hey, I don't ask them to strip in front of me, besides it's just awkward, not attracted to dudes remember?"

"Yeah, yeah anyway what's up?" My eyes widened. "Holy shit."

"What?"

"I can talk!"

"O...kay?"

"HELL YEAH BITCHES! I'M BA-" I started coughing. "FUCK!"

Grover just laughed. I flipped him off.

"Well, I'ma go tell Chiron you're awake. He's gonna wanna check on you again."

I nodded. "Fine dude, cya later."

Grover grinned and I grinned back, slapping his back in a hug. "It's good to have you back." He whispered.

I chuckled. "It's good to be back," I smirked, "though ,you know, I was only gone a day."

"Darn, maybe I should've waited a little longer to find you."

"Shut up you ass."

Grover laughed. "Cya dude."

"Tell Chiron to bring me more morphine!" I called out.

Grover left and I sighed, a small smile tugging on my lips. Ah. Home sweet home, the place you never really miss until you think you won't ever be returning to it and then...well, you just can't have enough of it. Right now I'd gladly lay my ass here in a swath of blankets then be out there in the unknown gathering some rocks. Even if they were the thing that let us to stay here without having to migrate. I was just so...comfortable, or rather...comfortably uncomfortable. Still hurt like a bitch. God this sucked.

But it sucked so good.

Ha, that sounded dirty.

I looked around my surroundings; I was in the infirmary, well that...that was an easy thing to guess, where else would they have put me? The closet? That's child abuse! The room was white, which was also to be expected, it seemed like the standard color around here. It was either Juluis's obsession or it was a phobia for every other color in the spectrum, either way, everything was white and it was bright and I was hooked up to a bunch of machines that I couldn't tell you the name of if you'd asked me a hundred times, took a break came back after giving me a bunch of books on medical equipment and asked me again. Nope, it just wasn't happening, medicine was not my area of expertise. Remember, me marine bio and geology dude. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I sat up in the hospital bed (good god it was the softest thing I'd ever felt in my life) and let out a breath. I. Was. Bored. Grover had left what, a minute ago? I glanced at the clock in the corner of the room, yep, one minute had passed. Much too long to have me just sitting here and doing nothing. Don't they know all the bad that comes when I'm able to just sit and think? Nothing good ever comes from that. It's what makes those "_horrible"_ pranks that Chiron thinks are just so immature. Ha! It's genius is what. He better be glad there're no banks anymore or I'm sure I'd have robbed one by now just out of sheer boredom.

With Grover of course. Can't forget Grover.

I tapped my finger against the sides of the bed. I wished I could get up, walk around, stretch, all that stuff, anything but just lay in this darn bed. It was a freaking prison, but I knew if I tried anything before Chiron looked me over he'd skin my hide, and yeah that wasn't something I was particularly looking forward to.

I glanced at the ceiling. One sheep. Two sheep. Three sheep. Four sheep. Five sheep. Six sheep. Door opens. Seven sheep. Eight sheep. OH! I brought my attention back to the space in front of me.

"Ah, my wonderful little sea prince! How are you feeling?" Chiron strutted into the room, his famous smile plastered on his face, the one that just drew you in and never let go. The one that persuaded everyone to join his little escapade to begin with. You just couldn't say no to this guy. "I trust you're feeling very alive at the moment?"

"If that's what those aches mean, then yeah," I croaked out. "And that."

Chiron tapped his chin, busily looking at some of those mysterious whirring machines and checking numbers and measurements and all that shiz. You know, the stuff that went way over my head. "I see, I see, I should probably up your caduceus dosage." He snapped his fingers. "Akkie, can you tell me the readings over there?"

"Akkie" (Achilles) made a face, the scar on the side of his face making his grimace even more menacing, pushing himself from the wall he had taken residence against (how the Travk he'd managed to just...appear like that scared the shit out of me, the dude was a freaking ninja), he hated being called Akkie, it was too "cute" for his tastes, everyone else knew better to call him either Akes or his full name, Achilles. But hey, he was Chiron's right hand man, that charismatic dude had saved him just like he'd saved all of us; if anyone was allowed to call him by a pet name it was Chiron. So he sucked it up and moved on, it's not like it was something that was catching on.

Akes walked to the other side of my bed and began exchanging numbers with Chiron, numbers and readings that went over my head that the latter would nod his head to and go "Ah! I see!" every few seconds. Honestly I wondered if Akes really knew what half the stuff he was rambling out meant. I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he did, it would make sense if Chiron was teaching him stuff, everyone likes an informed leader or...er...leader to be. At least that would explain away part of the time the two spent locked away in there little hut of magical mysteries.

"Okay then, well, you'll be fine." Chiron proclaimed after a good five minutes of prodding and adjusting and relaying stuff with Akes. "Here take this." He handed me some random liquid in a small cup from the medicine cabinet, I drank it quickly. Caduceus. I shivered, god it was tart. I handed back the cup. "You're free to go, just don't do anything stupid." He turned to Akes. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Akes rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Chiron nodded his head, satisfied, and began removing me from all the many monitors that he'd strapped me to. Honestly were any of them really necessary? I mean it's not like we always had them, why waste all that time with it? Once finished he shooed the both of us out of the room, the taller brooding blonde (ha ha ha alliteration), walking slightly faster than myself.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked when I made to step around him.

"My room?"

"Fine."

I glanced at him. "You know you take your job way to seriously dude, I think you know the chances of me doing anything right now besides sleeping is like beyond unlikely."

He just scowled in response. Isn't he a talker?

"Sooo...where're the others?"

"The ones that came with you?"

"Yeah."

Akes shrugged. "Probably in Chiron's suite. If not, I don't know. Don't care."

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" I grumbled to myself. Was it really so hard to have a conversation with the guy? The dude knew all the tricks to making talking as short as possible. It was seriously annoying. I was a sociable dude, I didn't do the whole silence is golden shtick. Silence is fucking stupid is what. That saying is utter bullshit.

He just grunted in response.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're an ass?"

He glared. "No, it never came up."

"Oh that's too bad, might've saved you some friends."

He smacked the top of my head. "Shut up."

I glared and rubbed the back of head. "Aren't you supposed to be like watching over me or something?"

"That didn't hurt."

"Fuck you, ass."

We rounded a corner, one that looked exactly like the one we had just walked down.

"Ooo, is Percy back?"

"Sounds like it, brother."

"Think we can get him to help us with our newest 'project'?"

I looked around, confused. Where the Travk were those voices coming from?

"I don't know looks like he's got a watchdog on his tail."

"Ooo, you mean Akkie? He's just an over agressive puppy!"

I snickered, Akes glowered, that just made me laugh. "All right come out you two."

"Uh oh, he heard us!"

"Is the mean puppy gonna try and eat us?"

"Yes." Akes smirked when two gasps could be heard.

"Maybe we should run."

"Yes brother, maybe we should, or, or, or, or-"

"Connor, Travis, get out here," I looked around the hall, trying to figure out where the two troublemakers could be hiding. "Where the hell are you two anyway?"

One of them snickered. "Behind you."

The other followed suit. "Beside you."

"Above you."

"Below you."

"TADA!" The two exclaimed in unison, seemingly jumping out of thin air.

"Shit! Dude..s, don't do that!... How did you do that?"

I looked down at the two ginger twins standing in front of me, each one wrapping an arm around the other's shoulders, Connor and Travis, also known as Leo's little helpers, or the spawns of Satan or the little devils, since they were the only two that seemed to understand half of what he told them...and of course they gave him hell while doing it. It was kinda sad really, that the only two who could help repair this place were two ten year olds who could make more gizmos than half of us combined. When you realize that, is it really any wonder the two survived in the first place?

The two boys were twins, identical, (dear god could you ask for any more trouble?) but thankfully we could tell them apart thanks to a bunch of accidents that, for better or worse, made them easily identifiable. Connor was the one missing a tooth in the front, giving him the adorable incomplete smile of youth and wore an eye patch over his right eye; he was burned by acid a few years back and was blinded by it. It wasn't a pretty sight, we were lucky to save his face.

Travis on the other hand had one green eye and one blue eye, something funky happened with some chemicals in the air and fucked with it. As far was we know the only thing it did was change the color and hopefully that would be all it did; I'd hate for him to have some sort of problem in the future because of it.

"Invisibilty cubes! See?!" Connor exclaimed thrusting his free hand out and showing off a little cube.

"We were finishing them while Leo was away, he was totally surprised right Con?"

"Oh yeah! We scared the bijeebus out of him! He was all _'¡Ah! Hijos del diablo_!'"

"Yeah yeah! And then he tried to throw a wrench at us!"

"And then the holy water!"

"Oh! Oh! And then the salt ring!"

The two looked at each other, mischievous grins on there faces._ "'Gingers have no souls!'"_

I rolled my eyes, sure sounded like something Leo would do. True god fearing Catholic he was. It was a wonder he put up with them at all. "You know he doesn't mean it right kiddo's?"

They nodded. "Oh we know."

"We just like messing with him, right Trav?"

"Yep!"

"So! Percy can you help us? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Pleasssssseeeeeeee?"

"Pretty please?"

"With a cherry on top?"

"And whipped cream?"

"And blueberry icecream?"

"Shouln't the ice-cream have gone on before the other stuff?"

"Shut up," Connor hissed loudly, acting like we couldn't hear him. "We're trying to persaude him to help us remember?"

"Oh yeah." Travis hissed back.

I grinned and placed my hands on top of their little heads, letting out a small chuckle. "I'll see what I can do ok?"

The two beamed at me and high fived each other behind their backs. "Yes! Score!"

"Now get lost," Akes growled menacingly, though we knew he wasn't serious, he couldn't hate the kids and you could see the smile struggling to turn up the corners of his lips. It was like they said, he was just a giant puppy underneath it all. Of course getting him to show that he wasn't an ass was a bit of a challenge, not many could bring that out of him.

"Okay Akkie," They said in unison, laughing at the irritated look on Akes face before running off hand in hand, diasppearing halfway down the hall. Oh god those two were a handful.

We continued to walk, Akes an annoying presence in the back of my mind, one that just wouldn't go away.

"What do you need from your room?"

"Dude, it has a bed, I plan on sleeping."

He grabbed my arm, "No, we're going to Chiron's room."

"Why?"

"Grover's there."

"So, I'll see him when I wake up."

"Just come on, I'm sure those people are freaking out."

I scoffed. "It's not like we're gonna kill 'em."

"They don't know that."

I groaned. "Fine. Let's go reassure the saviours man."

Akes nodded in approval and we doubled back, passing a flustered looking Malcolm, our designated researcher, his boxes currently floating in the air, and his glasses askew on his face.

"Connor, Travis cut it out, you know Malcomt's a scaredy cat."

They giggled, "Okay Percy!"

The boxes dropped to the flow and Malcolm nodded in our direction, probably trying not to have a mental breakdown and find a logical explanation for what had just happened.

"Invisibility cube," I Conled out to him as I was dragged to Chiron's suite.

"So what do you think of them?" I asked as we approached the door.

Akes was silent for a moment. "They seem like good people, though the pale one has issues."

I scoffed. "And you don't?"

He glared and pushed open a door. "Get in there."

"Yeah yeah," I opened the door.

"-o who's Bia?"

I looked in the room, Sadie and Carter were currently interrogating Nico, they didn't _look_ particularly threatened. They seemed pretty at ease to be hones, though Nico looked a little uncomfortable at being put in the hot seat.

"W-why do you ask?"

"You kept mumbling her name in your sleep, so who was she?"

"Uhm she was...my uhm...sister," He rubbed the back of his head and looked away embarrassed.

Akes froze behind me. I glanced at his face, he looked freaked out. "Neeks?" His voice was shaking and barely over a whisper, but we all heard it. Everyone looked at us. Nico had a look of confusion on his face, one that morphed to surprise, realization, and finally, strangely enough, horror.

"Luke?"

_A/N: AND VIOLA! THE END OF THE NEW CHAPTER! SO yeah Percy POV as most had requested that it be Percy, so yeah this chapter is mainly about meeting new people, like the twins (OOC no they aren't gingers in the books I just felt it fit them and I made them younger cause well...yeah I wanted to), and Malcolm who is NOT related to Annabeth, he's just a smarty pants and bookworm, and finally Akes(Akkie/Achilles/Luke) Yes those are all his names, he's not an OC he's an OOC Luke, who knows Nico, who changed his names for reasons who'll find out next chapter, the two have a past~ DUN DUN DUN?! lol Also I now realize for congruency in the timeline for what I wanted to happen in all the flash backs Nico is now thirteen, I think I said he was twelve but now I've changed that so everything fits better. Uhm yeah. DON'T KILL ME FOR THE OOC! Don't you love the twins? I know I do, they're freaking adorable, and the banter between characters are fun and NO Grover and Percy are just really close friends they have a bromance not anything serious lol. And yes this chapter has like solidified Percy's bi-sexuality for those who were too uhm...oblivious to catch on to that lol. Uhm oh yah I'm gonna change the name from Luke to Akkie in the previous chapter cause I realize I had changed it to luke originally, yeah this chapter has me chanign things lol BUT YEAH KEEP THAT ALL IN MIND AND BE READY FOR CHAP 10 :3 Hopefully done by tomorrow :3. Again THANKS FOR READING AND I hope you don't mind all the OOC in it, I hope you think it works. Opinions, greviences, criticism, etc appreciated :3 I AWAIT YOUR REVIEWSS!_


	10. Waking

_HELLO AGAIN! ARCHIE HERE WITH CHAPTER TEN! Hope you enjoy it! Comment Review Share And all that jazz. Full A/N at the end and of course I guess lol the Italian Glossary for young Nico~_

**Chapter Ten: Waking**

_**Nico**_

_ Aiutatemi._

I was trapped, trapped inside my own mind, my own body, unable to control what happened to it, to _me_. The darkness pressed in, suffocating and strong, like chains wrapped around my throat, slowly pushing the life blood that was _me_ out the window. Slowly draining _me_ of my will, cutting _me _off from humanity, making _me_ a prisoner in my own home. _Collegamento a me alla mia propria palla al piede_.

_Aiutatemi._

I heard the humming, the annoying racket, a funky buzzing, like bees, calling for blood, for retribution, the destruction of all around me, the insatiable bloodlust, all of it engulfed me, pressing harder.

Harder, harder, harder.

_ Aiutatemi._

Letting me sink, deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper.

_Aiutatemi._

A black goo that destroyed all it touched, _un fungo_, a parasite in the worse sense, one that wished to be in control like a cancer to my psyche. I felt myself losing, I felt myself giving up, growing weaker, I was so tired, would it really be so bad to just remain here? To be the broken memory of who I was? The voice said it would be okay, it was fine to let go, easier even, to not think, to not breath, to leave it all to the Virus.

And I was starting to believe it.

_Aiutatemi._

It was very freeing to not have any control, to just follow instructions mindlessly without emotion. It was the epitome of human existence I slipped away, I closed my eyes, I felt the chains tighten, the bars to my prison closing, I was losing, losing to myself, losing the same way my sister had. I was changing, I could feel the fiery tingling roaring through my veins, like lava, egging me on, fueling my anger, I could feel it all, it was so powerful and I was so tired, so weak, destitute, decrepit; I didn't want to exist, I didn't want to be, it was just so easy, to let go.

If I let go of myself would that clear my debt?

Then finally I could be with my family again.

The dark came closer, swifter, thicker, air was slow to come, I was being choked out, it didn't want me to remain, it didn't want me to just let go, no, then I could rebel if I wanted to, I could come back. It wanted to destroy me, claim my body as its own, reap destruction in my name. But I didn't care. I had done some good in my final moments right? I had saved at least one life. Wasn't that worth something? Didn't that say anything about me. Even if I had taken dozens more, at least one was spared, one life left to live. There was still some good left in me right?

If so it was all worth it. To not be remembered as a destroyer, at least to one person, to have made a positive difference in the world, it would all be okay, all be worth it. Everything, every last drop, every last tear. If there had been some good left in me then there had been a reason, it wasn't pointless, I could rest easy knowing that this world hadn't stolen everything from me. That even in my last moments I still retained a bit of my innocence. One that had been torn away from me much too early. Leaving me scarred. Tortured. Empty. Blank. Disturbed.

I curled into a ball, the darkness was upon me, I had excepted it, my fate, it was the only way I could die. Killed by my own devil, the evil in me, it showed its fangs now, sinking them into my flesh, devouring all good that was left. In the end I was nothing. Nothing but a person on this planet, a dot, a speck, insignificant. I wouldn't be remembered, not the me I knew, but the Virus would be, the one that tore at my insides and destroyed my mind; the one that I would never understand what it had done, why it had struck, why it festered in me. That's the legacy that would be left behind.

That's what would become of the name of di Angelo.

The siblings that ravaged the world to the ground, and rebuilt it in their on deranged vision. They were the future of the human race, more animal than man, thriving off blood and battle. A horrible de-evolution . Is that truly all the future held for us? To be forever caught in battle? Was that all our progress had been good for? To be a fleeting moment in time, to progress no more, to be stagnant, to reverse. If so what was the point in trying, in living, in dying, in being?

Maybe it was better to just go now. Maybe it was a good thing that the me as I knew myself to be wouldn't be around to see the true hell the world would become. I don't think I could handle that.

It wasn't like I asked for all the bad that happened. It's not like I wanted it to happen. Nor was it like I was purposefully looking for it, trying to make it come about, but it would find me, it would pull me in, grabbing me by the ankle and sucking me in deeper and deeper, until I didn't hold a hope of ever reaching the surface again. All that was left was the murky view of the water slowly bringing me down, drowning me in its depths. It's what kept me alive. Holding onto my bad, cultivating it, morphing it, magnifying it, all to show I was tough enough to survive. I was good enough. I wasn't someone to be trifled with.

But for what was it all worth?

In the end I lost again. And not even to a person, but to myself. I lost to things I didn't understand, things I feared. It's sad. Pathetic even. Ironic to an extreme. But unavoidable. It was done, over, complete. I was falling. Down. Down. Down. Down. I felt the cold, cold fingers of death, beckoning me, I saw its light, inviting in a frigid sense. Not warm. Not comforting. No, I wasn't worth that, I didn't get the luxury of a comfortable escape from life, death was enough of a gift for me. I was expecting it, wanting it, waiting for it. Why would it roll out the red carpet for someone as desperate as me. It knew I'd come even if it led me across a field of spikes naked. I'd already experienced pain, what was a little more in the grand scheme of things? Nothing could be worse than what I'd already felt.

It came closer, Death's bony hand, the virus grew stronger, I grew weaker; I turned my back to the world, it was too cold, too empty, too void of life. This wasn't were I wanted to be, death was were I was meant to be.

I reached out a hand.

I felt it's ice spread through me. I embraced it.

I saw white.

I opened my eyes.

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

Bright light shot through my pupils, piercing like a knife; my world spun, everything disoriented, figures and objects obscured and fuzzy. Lava coursed through my veins, fear and misunderstanding. Where was I? Why was I here? What was happening? What had happened? Was this hell? Nausea rose through my being, I tried to focus, clammy sweat ran through my body. I felt sick. I felt broken and confused. I felt the cool breeze against my face but it did nothing to cool the burning in my throat, my arms, my legs, my everything.

I turned my head to the side, it was cold, I was shivering now, I groaned and heaved, nausea over-ruling all my other senses, emptying the contents of my stomach onto the floor. My eyes closed, feeling the acidic burn in my throat, the gut wrenching clenching and unclenching of my abdomen pushing up, up, up, my torso spasming in an attempt to rid myself of all the bad in me. As if the impurity could be removed so easily.

I felt my hair plaster against my forehead,my sweat acting as an adhesive. _Oh dio._ A strangled moan escaped my lips; I heaved again. And again. And again. And again. I heaved until nothing but bile came up. Until I was totally empty. I was shaking and weak and felt like the very life support in me had been flung out of me, drained by a leech, a parasite. Throwing up was supposed to make you feel better. It only made me feel worse, wretched, pale and trembling, looking like death itself. It left me empty.

I rested my head on the cool metal bar of the bed, taking in ragged breaths, trying to calm myself down, pushing back the wetness in my eyes, wiping at the dripping at my nose. It had burned, throwing up. It had hurt, it had felt like claws grating their way up to the surface, climbing steadily out, sinking the pointed bone into the rock, hoping to find a hold. I took a trembling breath, trying to steady myself, to stop the spinning, to focus.

This couldn't be hell. No. Hell I could handle. Hell was just pain, pain faded away. Physical pains never lasted. No, this was the Earth, and the Earth was more of a hell than hell ever could be. What could be worse than living without forgiveness? Living with regret? Hate for yourself and everyone around you? Being alive, being on this Earth, this was the true hell. Having your blood pumping through your veins, breath in your lungs, this was what hell was. Not that metaphysical world of fire and torture, but the Earth, the living embodiment of suffering. Nothing could be worse. Nothing.

The sound of clanking metal and footsteps brought me out of my reverie. I slowly opened my eyes, tilting my head to the side, my black bangs falling to cover half my face, eyelids lidded, the taste of vomit still in my mouth, the smell in the air, strong, pungent, disgusting; embarrassing. My gaze fell on more white. For a moment I didn't know what I was looking at, I was confused, my first instinct was to run but I was too weak to move. I just laid there, stupidly. Slowly the white moved forward and I realized it was a coat. A lab coat. A scientist's coat. A doctors coat. It moved in rivulets with the person's body, crinkling and uncrinkling with the sway of movement, the bend of muscles.

"_Andarsene,"_ I mumbled.

The figure jumped, the platter he was carrying falling to the floor. He bent down to pick it up, mumbling a few curses under his breath. Messy blonde hair came into my vision, the type of hair that looked like the person had just woken up, bed hair, it gave him a rumpled appearance.

He finished picking up what he dropped and turned to me.

"You awake?"

"_Andarsene_," I repeated.

"What?"

I cleared my throat and rolled my eyes, why couldn't people just know Italian? It was so much easier to speak than English "Go away." I rasped out, knowing my accent was heavier than normal.

"Ah, well sorry, can't do that," He shot me an amiable smile. I guess he was trying to win my trust or something, but I wasn't one to be so easy. I glared back, though it was no were near its usual strength. "Chiron sent me to make sure you were recovering properly."

"I'm at his camp?"

"Yeah," He looked at me funny, his amber eyes calculating. Even though he gave off a laid back, go with the flow air, his eyes showed that there was more to him. That there was actually a brain there, not just some simplistic aid. Knowing spread across his face, like a light bulb going off, "That's right, you weren't awake when you got here huh?"

I shook my head slowly, my eyes trained on him in a predatory manner. "Who are you?"

The boy smacked his head, a lazy, sleepy smile on his face. "How could I have forgotten?" He held out his hand. "Will's the name."

"Nico," I eyed the hand suspiciously, like it was about to bite me.

Will laughed. "You shake it." He wiggled his fingers to emphasis the point.

"Oh," I turned my head and shook his hand, hiding my blush.

"See that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"It was awful," I mumbled, still embarrassed.

"Oh well." His friendly demeanor dropped, suddenly becoming all business. It was kind of scary to be honest. "I'm going to do your physical now. You should be fine but Chiron just wants to make sure. 'Kay?"

I just nodded my head in response.

He smiled, "Good," He took out a stethoscope. "Now, breath in."

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

"There, all done," Will removed the blood pressure gauge on my arm. "you can go now."

"Thanks," I grumbled, unsure of what to say as I pulled on my shirt.

"You can go through that door," He said, pointing to the door on my left, "That leads to Chiron's office, I think your friends are in there now."

I nodded and sighed as Will finally released me from his care. It was probably the most extensive physical I'd ever had, though maybe it just seemed that way because I hadn't had one in years. I could hardly remember what was proper or not. Though since I wasn't molested I guess everything had gone according to protocol.

Will stood uncomfortably for a moment, shifting from foot to foot looking like he had something more to say, but didn't think he should. "Well...I'll uh, see you later then." He turned and walked out the room, carrying the tray he had come in with out.

I sat there on the bed, my legs hanging over the edge, head bowed and shoulders sagging. I couldn't go out there right now, I was too broken, too shaken, I couldn't believe how close I had come to becoming my sister, the same psychotic mess. I could still feel the Virus working in me, its hot power pulsing in my veins, I could feel the Adamantium slowly being eaten away, soon the whispers would come, soon I'd fall back into,_ follia_, insanity.

I reached into my pocket and took out a small metal vial, it was one of the last things from the modern age I still had. It had the power to keep metals liquid, a feature that came in handy for me now. I uncorked the top and felt the heat on my face, smelled the metallic scent, something reminiscent of iron, and brought it to my lips.

Fire licked my tongue, scorched my throat, and I suppressed a cry of pain. _Faceva male. _It burned going down. It burned and ravaged and desecrated my insides, but it was the only way. _E 'così male_. My invulnerability kept it from truly hurting me, from doing permanent physical damage, but the pain was still there. The agony that seemed to be the only pension for regret I could give. My family was dead yet I still got to live, this small sacrifice, this greedy sacrifice was the least I could do.

I drank and drank, until there was nothing left, until I felt the fiery ache leave my arms, my legs, my blood, leaving me feeling empty, normal, human. I shakily brought the vial away from my face and took a calming breath, screwing the top back on it. I would need to get more Adamantium now, the magical metal that was the only thing that could hurt me was now keeping me alive. It's funny how life worked that way.

I wiped my eyes, and walked over to the mirror on the other side of the room, thankfully my eyes weren't too blood shot, but I splashed some cold water on my face for good measure. Breath. I needed to breath, to calm down. I wasn't weak. I was strong. I didn't show weakness. Weakness was for those who had no other way out. _Ero forte_.

I looked in the mirror again and steeled my gaze. _Ero forte._ I was strong.

I turned and walked opened the door.

Sadie and Carter sat on the other side, their heads turning when they heard the creaking door.

"Hi," I managed sheepishly, sending them a little wave in greeting.

Sadie and Carter stood up, Sadie rushing over and pulling me into a hug. "Nico! Thank god," She exclaimed. She pulled back a little and looked at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sadie," I mumbled trying to pull away from her embrace. She shot me a look. I rolled my eyes. "Really, I'm fine, now let me go."

Sadie sighed and let go, looking me over critically. Carter put a hand on her shoulder. "Let da' boy, breath hun, ya' suffocatin' 'im."

"I know, I know, I just, want to make sure," She pinched my cheek; I scowled, "He's just so frail looking."

I scoffed. "I'm not weak."

"I know honey, I just worry."

"I don't see why, I'm not a kid." I shot back defiantly.

Carter ruffled my hair, tactfully changing the subject. "You did good kid."

"What?"

"Percy's going to be okay." Sadie beamed.

I let out a sigh of relief. "I can leave then."

"What? Why?" Sadie took a step back and gave me what I assumed was a motherly stare.

"I'm not staying here, I have places to be."

"What places?"

"Just...places...not here."

She moved to block the door. "You're not going."

I glared. "You can't stop me."

"You don't even know where you're going! I'm not letting you leave. That's final."

I let out a small laugh. "You're not my mom, you can't boss me around. I'm going!"

"You're acting like a spoiled brat you know." Sadie glared and tapped her chin. "Besides what are you going to do without your weapons?"

I froze, my hand going to my waist. My sister's blade...it was gone. "Didn't notice did you? They took them away, weapons aren't allowed on premise, only when going out the camp can we have them, and I don't think they're going to let us leave, you especially, Chiron seemed to have an especially strong interest in you. But don't worry, you can try leaving, you can go without your stuff, you seem to have good luck anyway when it comes to getting shot at. You can go, just walk away and leave it all behind, go against all the charmingly fake words I'm sure are going to fall out of that Chiron's mouth to get you to stay. But wait, that's right, that dagger of yours, it's important huh? If you want it back you'll have to stay." She looked me in the eye. "Okay?"

I nodded and slouched down against a chair, defeated, taking in a breath. My sister's blade, the only thing I had left of her, the only thing I had to remember her smile, gone, in a blink of an eye. Sadie walked up to me and knelt beside me, she placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently_. Oh dio._ I was going to cry wasn't I? I bit my lip, I wasn't weak, I didn't cry. I was strong.

"It's okay," She whispered gently in my ear, rubbing circles in my back, "We want to leave as much as you do, this place just doesn't feel right to us, too perfect, too advanced, but we can't, not without you, and that means we have to get your blade back."

I took in a shaky breath. "Do you know where they took them?"

She shook her head. "No, they wouldn't tell us, the keep them under heavy lock and key somewhere." She hugged me, this time I didn't push her away. "Don't worry, we'll get it back and then we'll leave, you, me, Carter, hell even that Percy kid if he wants, I know you think he's hot, don't deny it, and we'll keep moving, keep surviving, just like we always have. Okay?"

I nodded my head silently, not trusting my voice to remain steady at the moment. It was too much, I didn't deserve this kindness, this love. I didn't deserve friends or companionship. I deserved to be alone, isolated, away from others, the lone wolf. I was supposed to be pushing them away, but instead I was letting them in and I knew that in the end I'd have to cut myself off, that I'd have to cut my losses and get away. Get away before they betrayed me, before they found out the truth, saw me for the monster I really was and ran away. Before they could truly hurt me. But I couldn't. Their presence was a balm to my wounds. The wounds that couldn't heal, some of the cuts and bruises that could now fade away. A single tear fell from my eyes, landing on my clenched hand. I was trying so hard, so, so hard not to breakdown, not to cry, and I was failing. Failing to be strong.

Sadie hummed softly in my ear, being comforting, being motherly, being so amazing, and I didn't deserve it. Another tear fell, then another. I was breaking. I was broken. I was hanging on by a thread. I was overwhelmed. My emotions were out of control. Sadie didn't say anything just hugged me tighter and let me cry, she knew that the thing I needed right now wasn't reassuring words but an ear, a shoulder to cry on. She would make a great mother for sure. And here I was burdening her with all my faults, giving her a shell of a person unable to ever truly reciprocate this kindness, while she gave back everything. She was sticking with the disturbed child, sticking with me and it hurt and healed at the same time.

She let me cry myself out, taking my gasping sobs and sniffs without missing a beat, humming that melody and making me feel welcomed, wanted, warm, loved. It had been so long, oh so long sense this had happened, her touch feather light like my sister's had been, before...before she went insane. Finally I finished and pulled away, wiping my eyes on my holey jacket. "Thank you." I said softly, looking at my hands.

She smiled, "It's fine, it's what I'm here for, moral support." She patted my head. "So, why is that dagger so important anyway? I was just guessing it was, it seems almost antique to be honest."

I cleared my throat. "Bianca made it for me," I closed my eyes, it felt so weird to say her name again after all this time. It felt foreign on my lips.

"Is that who Bia is?" I nodded. "Who...was she?"

"Uhm she was...my uhm...sister," I rubbed the back of my head and looked away embarrassed.

The door opened and we all turned out attention to the figures at the door, it was Percy and a taller and probably older blonde. For a moment, I could only stare, I was finally seeing Percy's face, and it was gorgeous. I gulped and his eyes met mine, a small knowing grin spreading on his face, his sea green eyes shining playfully, his brown hair unruly in the most attractive way possible. I closed my mouth and wet my lips, my throat going dry. _Oh dio, era magnifico, perfetto, irraggiungibile._ And that was for the best.

"Neeks?" The blondes whisper jolted me out of my staring, and my eyes met his. My brow scrunched in confusion, he looked vaguely familiar but... My eyes widened.

"_Oh mio, dio_. Luke?" I whispered shakily.

The room had gone quiet, everyone was looking at the two of us, Luke took a step forward, pushing past Percy, a shocked expression on his face.

"Where's Bia?" He asked, a fearful glint in his eye, he knew the answer already, he didn't really want to know, but he had to.

I looked away and bit my lip, "Dead." I whispered. To me. I finished in my head. The Bianca he had known was gone. The one he'd loved and dated no longer existed.

He nodded, the scar on the side of his face making his face all the more serious. "I figured as much." He put a hand on my shoulder. I was getting sick of all the sentiment and resisted the urge to push it off. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head, still looking down. "It's fine, she's in a better place now." It came out sounding mechanical. I hoped he'd see it as grief and not a lie.

He shook his head, his blonde hair moving with the motion. "Not for that."

I went rigid, and knocked his hand off my shoulder. "Then for what." I growled glaring at him.

He looked away, my gaze too intense for him. "For not being there for you, I-I should've been there, Bia and I...we were supposed to have had a date that day, but I cancelled, I didn't think anything would be wrong with it but then..." He broke off, looking guilty, eyes watering slightly. "I should've been there." He repeated. "You were like the little brother I never had, I should've been there." He grabbed my wrist and fell to his knees. "I'm sorry."

"And what about Bia," I growled out, fists shaking at my sides. "You two dated since you were freshmen and you're only sorry you couldn't be there for _me_? Did you even care about her?"

He looked up at me taken aback, I glared back down at him and tore my wrist from his grip. "I'm not the same kid from back then." I said angrily, rage boiling inside of me. "I'm not the Neeks you remember, the same sniveling wimp that you had to protect. I can take care of myself now, I've had to for years, you don't need to apologize to me, you should apologize to Bia, but she's not here and she's not coming back. She died for me. She died trying to keep me safe, to try and shield me from the worst of reality. She died without you." My gaze was fiery, my fury almost tangible. "I don't need your sorry. I don't need your pity. I don't need you."

He stood up. "Neeks-."

I punched him in the face and he fell to the floor, looking more surprised then hurt. He raised a hand to his cheek, already it was swelling. The anger drained out of me. "Don't." I whispered. "Just don't, okay?"

I looked at the others around me. Percy looked shocked, Carter looked indifferent, Sadie just looked worried. I huffed and turned away from him, plopping down on the couch beside me as if nothing had just happened. "What?" I snapped.

A voice came from behind me. "Well considering you just punched my second in command in the face, I'm assuming they're all rather shocked, Mr. di Angelo." I whirled around in the seat and found a white haired man sitting in the desk that had a second ago been unoccupied.

My eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?"

"I know many things Mr. di Angelo, your name is just one such trivial fact. Now why don't we all gather around and have a friendly chat hmm?" He shot us a dazzling smile. Percy and Luke moved to his side immediately, but Sadie, Carter, and I remained wary.

"How'd you get in here anyway?"

"Why sir, there's really no need to be suspicious," He smiled again at me, this time I felt compelled to believe him. Almost. "There is a door." He gestured behind him.

I stood up and walked over slowly. "Who are you?"

His smile widened even more. "Why Nico, I'm Chiron, leader of this faction, and I am very excited to get to know you better." I sly smirk crossed his face, almost snake like. "I hear you've lost something important to you hmm?"

I froze, terror building inside of me. He'd heard the conversation I had with Sadie. He knew out plan.

He knew.

And I didn't know how.

_A/N: Omg FINALLY done with this chapter! And I guess kinda another cliffhanger huh? But at least now you know how Luke and Nico know each other :3. OMG TYVM GOD! I FINALLY KNOW WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS PART OF THE STORY. I was sitting here half the time going...WHAT THE FUCK AM I GONNA HAVE EM DO AT THE CAMP. now i have a goal in mind. And lol Chiron's kinda creepy huh. God he kinda feels like a pedo bear at the end huh? More questions to be answered hmmm? Like how Chiron knows what he knows and oh who liked my Will, was he good? I think he's fun ish. And omg sorry...kinda... not really, this chapter was kinda depressing alot of shiz went down, you got to see more of how unstable Nico really is, how fucked up in the head he is, how depressed etc. A lot of sad feels in this chapter. Don't you all love Sadie? She's so bad ass and motherly! AS QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED MORE ARE REVEALED lol. The plot thickens. OMG MJM SHOUT OUT TO U GIRL! YOU MESSEGING GOT ME THROUGH THIS CHAPTER I SERIOUSLY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS lol. And I love writing Nico's pov~ Anyway do you think there was too much in this chapter? Pacing good? Omg almost 100 pages in this story :3 So happy, excited etc~ Yay. woot. Next chapter Meeting~ Percy POV gotta introduce a few more characters and get the lay of the land and maybe some fluffly moments with Percy/Nico~ Honestly I was surprised that Nico and Luke didn't make up, i had initially intended on them being like OMG YOUR ALIVE! *CUDDLES* LUKE GETS SUPER PROTECTIVE OF NICO. But it turned into OMG YOU'RE ALIVE! *Luke tries to glomp Nico* *Nico holds out hand* HELL NO BITCH* PUNCH* YOU SORRY EXCUSE OF A MAN GET OUT MY WAY! and Luke being super protective of Nico and trying to win back is trust, affection etc. Wow this was long anwaY PLEASE REVIEW, COMMENT, CRITISIZE, COMPLIMENT, ANYTHING! I JUST WANNA HEAR YOUR VOCIES THE REVIEWS KEEP ME GOING! _

**_Italian Glossary_**

**___Aiutatemi: _**___Help me_

**_____Collegamento a me alla mia propria palla al piede: _**_____Link me to my own ball and chain_

**_______un fungo:_**_______ A fungus_

**_________Oh dio: _**_________Oh god_

**___________Andarsene: _**___________Go away_

_ **follia:**_**___________  
_**

**_______________Faceva male: _**_______________It hurt_

**_______________E 'così male: _**_________________It hurt so bad_

**_____________________Oh dio, era magnifico, perfetto, irraggiungibile: _**_____________________Oh god, he was magnificent, perfect, unattainable_

**_______________________Oh mio, dio: _**_______________________Oh my god_

**_______________________*AS ALWAYS IF YOU KNOW THERE ARE ERRORS WITH THE ITALIAN PLEASE LET ME KNOW! OTHERWISE THANKS FOR READING AND HOPE YOU LIKE THE NEXT CHAPTER!_**


	11. Home

_Ello all sorry for how late this is but i had writers block and yeah...so Fanfiction was doing something weird and put random spaces in my doc...I think I got them all but if not lemmee know so I can fix it :3 THANKS AGAIN! SHARE! REVIEW! FAV! FOLLOW! ALL THAT STUFF! HOPE YOU ENJOY!_

**Chapter Eleven: Home**

_**Percy**_

Eh well...hi. I guess...

I honestly have no idea what the fuck to say right now. I have half a mind to insert an irritating texty little lingo thingy like L.O.L right here (you know me, just have to have the totally random ice breaker) but that would just be like... What? You still think in abbreviated instant messaging terms even though you haven't been able to use a phone or tap into the world wide link thing, that no really understands but the creators, in four years? Why yes. Yes I do. Considering half of those messages were relayed directly into my freaking _brain,_ I think it would make sense that there was just a _bit _of a lasting impression there. You know...in the form of eh, I don't know, _never forgetting_?!

Yeek, now that's got me thinking bout what other side effects there could be. I realize I never really considered what the aftershock to having a piece of, well , virtually_ radioactive _metal embedded in my head would have on my...head? Brain? Take your pick. Which, ha, it's kinda sad, cause well...that's a bit of a big deal ya know. Like you'd think I'd have thought about it sooner.. . I wonder how many people they accidently lobotomized before me. You know, just, Whoops, there goes Bob's will. Now isn' t that a comforting thought.

Meh, well at least if something happened that fried my brain and killed me I wouldn't be missing out on much. He, or well...anything really.

Morbid? I think not!

Awkward? Eh... I say...well...maybe...yeah...

Just a tad?

ANYWAY!

I think I was staring at Nico, but I wasn't sure. Well, it was either him or t hat suddenly really fascinating speck on the wall right behind him, but you know what? That doesn't really matter. No care. Actually I kinda do, so well that was a bit of a lie. You know a specky lie, a small lie, a really insignificant lie, but you know what, I'm rambling cause, well, how the heck did I get here again?

Ah yeah, that's right the magical speck that had suddenly materialized out of er ...thin air? Or perhaps it was really a hole in the wall and with that logic I guess it would have appeared out of like. ..wall. And hey what the hell does that even mean: "thin air", like how can air be thin? Is there fat air? Does our air needa go on a diet? Is that why we can't breath the air outside cause it's too f at? Is that what fat air is? Gosh, sometimes I just don't understand how human minds work, how do you make the connection between gift horses and mouths? Actually I get that one, though it's like soooo prehistoric now, like dude, who the hell uses horses anymore? Psshah !

Either way, I really wanted to ask Chiron about that speck, if, you know, that dot, that little, teeny tiny, less than one centimeter by one centimeter circular thing... had always been there or if it was new. I was _really_ leaning towards the whole it was new idea cause like this place was freaking spotless. Seriously, my reflection had a reflection it was so clean. It was worse than a freaking hospital! Though meh, I could've just been imaging it, you know taking my mind off what it was pre-occupied with at the moment. With the, uh, real deep and philosophical shit; thoughts contemplating the origins of order and chaos, cause you know, I'm such a freaking deep person.

_ Oh my god. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy s hit. Holy shit. Holy _fucking _shit!_

Yeah, that was pretty much the entirety of my mind at the moment. Deep right? So , so so, deep. Yeah...

Not.

But hey, don't blame me, my mind was like freaking _blown_! Like_ BOOM! _You know, I was just like stuck on what had just happened. I couldn't believe it , I'm pretty sure I was delusional, there's no way that everything that happened really did. I mean, _Akes_? Showing, _emotion_? You know besides the whole bad ass_ I can snap you in half with a glance _stuff. I mean just like...whoa.

Oh my god, Akes knows Nico.

_Holy shit_

Oh shiz, Nico just punched Akes.

_Holy shit._

Whoa, Akes just sat there and took it.

_Holy shit._

Wait... Akes has a heart?

_ HOLY FUCKING SHIT!_

Yeah that's what I was stuck on. The whole encounter just kept replaying over and over and over again in my head. Every time I kept expecting some different twist ending but nothing changed. It really happened. I glanced at Akes face, and stared at the growing bruise on his cheek , the mark that solidified it all. I just couldn't believe it. It really fucking happened.

_ It really fucking happened!_

And of course that brings us back to the present. You know that extremely awkward present that has Nico staring daggers at Chiron, Akes looking like a whipped puppy who just got it's paw stepped o n, Sadie standing behind Nico like a protective Mother Duck who holds an imaginary AK47 , Carter a foreboding statue waiting to come to life, and of course Chiron, re sting with an amiable smile on his face, his signature tinted sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

I shifted uncomfortably where I stood, dude, was he like totally blind? Seriously! How could he just be sitting there? I mean the tension was strong. Like really strong, like almost palpable, and Chiron was sitting there like he was having a beach vacation. How could he manage that when Nico looked like he was ready to jump the desk and rip his fucking throat out with his bare hands... Granted t hat would probably require a lot of strength and there would be a lot of blood.. .and sharp nails. Oh god now I have an image of Nico as a weird ass zombie out to eat our brains. Bad. Yeah that's really not the image I want in my head. Awkward. Pushing that away.

Maybe he'd use his teeth instead...

OKAY! No! Time to turn my attention else where.

I looked around the room, the silence was suffocating, I cleared my throat. "Hey ...where the heck's Grover?" My voice sounded loud in the quiet room, though I knew that was impossible, considering, well, it was still kinda raspy.

Everyone jumped, well, you know, everyone but Chiron, who just seemed to be waiting for us to join him in his summer wonderland, or wherever the fuck he decided to put his psyche in the moment. See , told you silence is hell, definitely not worth a lump of gold. Ha! Ridiculous .

Sadie spoke first, the hand placed on Nico's shoulder tightening slightly. "He left awhile ago, don't know where though, he didn't say."

The room lapsed back into silence and I shifted my position slightly. I didn't do well when there was nothing to occupy my mind with, I just had an urge to _move_.

"I'm sure he's fine," Chiron finally said, smile still in place, leaning into a more presentable sitting position. "Probably going to do his daily duties which reminds me-" He turned his attention to the three newcomers, "You'll need to be assigned a station too, that is, assuming you're staying?"

Nico glared, but the three nodded. What was his deal? Didn't this beat being on the run out there? Why wasn't he happy with being here where it was safe, stable and protected?

Chiron's smile broadened and he clapped his hands together. "Splendid!" He stood , and walked around his desk to stand in front of the "immigrants". "You," he s a id, pointing at Carter. He looked him up and down once, before finishing his statement. "You look like a big strong m an, I'll put you in Leo's division. You have some experience in mechanics correct ?"

Carter's eyes widened slightly, but he showed no other surprise. "Yeah, I used ta work in da shop with mah, pops, back be fore da world ended."

"Wonderful!" He turned to Sadie, "Now yo u, I think you'd be best in the medical division with Will, that would be okay right?"

Sadie blanched and stuttered. "Well I-I suppose. I was training to be a doctor before...you know."

I looked down at Nico as he looked away from Chiron to shot me a _what the fuck_ look. I shrugged my shoulders? What was there for me to say, so he had some lucky guesses, big whoop.

"Ah, now last but not least, you Mr. di Angelo," He smiled at him, the boy only glared more fiercely at him.

"And where do you want to put me oh wise and all knowing Chiron?" Nico said mockingly, fake bowing in the process.

Akes shot him a look, Nico, glared defiantly back, before whipping his gaze t o me, a look saying, _you got something to say bitch_? I put my hands up in a placating gesture, yeah, I had _no_, freaking desire to be on his bad side. Chiron though showed no outward signs of irritation and just kept smiling. It was incredible how he could just stay so positive all the time.

"Well, I'm going to put you in defense with Luke of course, I know you're more than capable in that department."

Nico, set his jaw, his demeanor darkening even more. "Of course that's where you'd put me." He growled darkly. It wasn't a statement, it was a threat, and it sent shivers down my spine.

Yep it was official, the dude was going to slit Chiron's throat in his sleep, somehow, one way or another, I'd know who to blame when he turned up dead.

"It's great isn't it?" Chiron said not missing a beat. "The perfect spot for you ."

"Yeah, I'm ecstatic, radiating with joy. " Nico rolled his eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is that all?"

"Ye-No!" Chiron clapped his hands together, "You're sleeping arrangements! That ' s very important! Well, then, consider in g you hate for Luke...Akes, whatever, ta ke your pick, I'm going to put you with Percy and Grover," He winked at the glaring boy in front of him. "I'm sure you' re happy about that aren't you?"

Nico sputtered and turned away, turning red. "Why would that matter? I don't care as long as it's not with Luke."

"Oh well, I could put you with Will i n that case..."

"No!" His eyes widened at his outburst. "I mean, bunking with Percy is fine. No need to change that."

"And Grover."

"Of course...and Grover." Nico huffed. " I'm leaving if that's all." He turned and stormed out the room, not waiting fo r a response.

Chiron sighed. "Akes you better go follow him, he'll get lost otherwise."

The blonde opened his mouth to speak but closed it nodding instead before walking through the automatic door, following in Nico's wake.

Chiron turned back to Sadie and Carter. "Now you two...well...there are no other women to put you with and I'd rather no t have you alone, so I guess you two ca n take one of the free rooms, whichever one you'd like." The two began to leave , but Chiron stopped them. "Just, ah, please refrain from being..._intimate_, in your time here, we don't have the facilities to properly accomadate a newborn yet. I do hope you understand."

Sadie blushed and nodded before taking Carter's hand and leaving the room as well. I started to follow but Chiron stopped me.

"Ah, Percy, could I have a word with you? "

My brow scrunched in confusion; I scratched my head. "Yeah, sure, what's up?"

"It's nothing bad, I just wanted to ask you to do me a favor."

"Okay...what is it?"

"Well...I don't think Nico wants to st ay very much, actually I don't think an y of them do, but considering the fact that Nico is the deciding factor of their little group their opinions don't matter."

My face scrunched further. "And? What do you want me to do about it? If they don 't want to stay you can't make them."

"I know, I know, that's why I'm asking you to do me this favor."

"Which is?"

"To befriend Nico obviously." He smile d. "If he starts to feel like he has a reason to stay, namely you, then he won 't leave. So will you do it?"

I rubbed the back of my head. "I-I don't know, that seems kinda, low..."

"Well don't you want him to like you any way?"

"Well...yeah bu-"

"And don't you want to show him what a wonderful place this is?"

"Yeah..."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Just...the reasons behind it."

Chiron held up his hands in a defeated manner. "Okay, okay, don't do it for me, do it for yourself. Is that better? Does that work?"

"I-I guess."

"Splendid, I can't wait to see your progress, now run along, you need to make sure Nico doesn't bite off Akes' head. "

I grinned at the prospect, that would be hilarious, and saluted. "Sure thing dude."

**-O-O-O-O-O-**

"Is it true you killed a swarm of Animate?"

"Are you really from Reyna's camp?"

"Do they really eat people over there?"

"How'd you get out?"

"Do you like it here?"

"Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?!"

Nico just stood awkwardly as the twins verbally attacked him with questions. It was strange watching him in this setting, he seemed so awkward with all the attention on him, all the eyes, and I knew he was anything but. The way he made himself seem smaller, wrapping an arm around himself, eyes darting back and forth, a slightly lost and unsure expression on his face. I felt bad for the guy. He obviously didn't talk to people much.

"Um...I...er," He stammered, backing up slightly. "I need to go to the bathroom. Bye."

Lamest excuse in the book, and everyone knew it, he just needed to get away. He didn't even shoot Akes a glare on the way out.

The twins looked at each other and pouted, as Nico made his escape. I chuckle d lightly and patted them on there heads .

"Did he not like us?" Connor asked turning his big green gaze on me.

"I want him to like us." Travis said grabbing onto my pant leg tightly.

I ruffled their hair. "I'm sure he liked you both just fine, he's just... overloaded ya know?"

"Eh?"

"What does that mean?"

"Is it something bad?"

"Kinda, I guess..." I scratched my head. "I don't think he likes crowds much, yo u know, being asked all those questions by strangers can be kinda scary. Especially when the dude is by himself like twenty four seven. See?"

"I guess."

"We guess."

"Yeah...what he said."

I rolled my eyes and smiled at them, before prying their fingers off of me. "No w , I'm sure he'll answer your questions later if you find him alone."

The twins grinned widely and jumped onto Akes, who stumbled slightly, looking surprised by the sudden increase in weight, hanging off his arms grinning evilly .

"Hey Akkie." Connor said voice lilting playfully. "We have a question for you. Right Trav?"

"Yeah, yeah, we have a really important question for our big bad puppy!"

I saw Akes eyebrow twitch but his voice came out steady. "What?"

"Why'd NicNic call you Luke?" Wow I was impressed, they already had a nickname for the guy.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone calls you Akes, why'd you answer to Luke? That name is so plain too."

"And why doesn't NicNic like you?"

"It didn't seem like he liked you."

Connor giggled. "Yeah, he looked like he wanted to rip your head off."

"So do you know each other?"

"Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?" They exclaimed in unison, jumping up and down, jostling Akes arms."

Akes groaned, he totally should've seen that one coming. Hell even _I _saw that one coming, there was no way he was going to get out of getting asked t hat question. I smirked, I couldn't wait to see him squirm.

I glanced at the others in the room. Leo, Grover, Will, Malcom, Octavian, Jason, Charles, Frank, Sadie, Carter, and Butch. The few others that weren't in the room were probably busy with other tasks, like the kitchen crew, farming personnel and scavengers, which is why pretty much everyone in here was in the defense squad. You know, besides me, Leo, Grover, Will, Malcom, Jason, Sadie and Carter, though I don't know if I should count them considering they haven't officially started working yet... but...whatever. Either way, everyone was looking at Akes with a_ go on then, answer the question _expression.

Well besides, Sadie, Carter, and I who just looked mildly amused.

"Come on dude, answer the question, we're dyin' to know."

Akes glared at me, but I just smiled innocently in his direction. Finally he co n ceded with a sigh. "It's my uh...real. .. name. I know Neeks from before...I us ed to date his sister."

I grinned and he winced as he heard the collective gasps that enveloped the room .

"Then why does he seem to hate you?" Will asked.

"Was his sister hot?" Jason contributed.

"Dude that's just gross, don't ask about the guys dead sister." Leo said punching his friend in the arm.

"How do you even know she's dead?" He shot back.

"You don't see here here do ya?"

"Good point."

I leaned back in my chair grinning wickedly as Grover caught my eye. "You knew did n't you?" He asked.

I winked. "Course not, man, I just thought it would be fun to see him squirm."

"You totally did, how'd you find out?"

I waved him over and he quickly crossed the room so I could tell him. "Well, I w as with Akes when he first saw Nico, and well from there they had a bit of a falling out. See that bruise on his face. "

Grover turned and nodded. "Yeah...when did he get that." He looked back at me and my grin widened even more. "No way, he didn't- did he?"

"Oooh yes, the kid decked him to the floor. It was priceless."

Grover's jaw dropped. "And he didn't do anything bout it?"

"No dude, he just sat there looking stunned, the two used to be as close as bro t hers, I just think he was like in shock or something."

"Holy shit." Grover whispered in awe. "Holy shit. I can't believe it."

"I know right, dude, that was my reaction too." I paused. "Well actually it was more like _holy fucking shit_, but you know same idea."

"Where'd Chiron stick 'im?"

"With Akes."

"That's not gonna end well is it."

I smirked. "No well in hell dude, I just wish I could be there when the shit train hits."

"Who's he bunking with?"

"Us."

"Great, gotta move my porn stash."

I shot him a look. "Seriously dude? That 's what you're worried about? What about my booze?"

"Think Charlie'll hold onto it?"

I made a face. "Probably if we let him use some."

"Is it worth it?"

"Do we want our new room-mate to find it ?"

"Point taken."

"You ask or me?"

"Me, he likes me more, you know got the whole brother from another mother thing going on."

"Dude, cut the crap you're whiter than m e."

"Shut up ass."

"Just go ask him."

He held up his hands. "Okay okay man, I' m goin, goin away." He sing songed away

I shook my head and smiled, watching the commotion go on around me.

God it was good to be back.

Well and alive too.

But ya know, home is where the heart is.

_A/N: AND END OF CHAPTER 11 :3 FINALLY LOL I went through like 3 different beginnings before settling on this one...it just seemed to be the best one I hope you think so too, and hnngh thanks for the support ya know, MJM, LOVE YA GIRL DIS ONE'S FOR YOU, and sonxofxhades, and HubrisP for your feedback and stuff, lol I'm glad i re-read your comment I thought you wrote fiction when you wrote faction. Though fiction might actually be better use for the idea...a third faction...hmmmmmm actually mayb lol I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER. ANYWAY! MORE TWINS! MORE LUKE! MORE AWKWARD MORE EPICNESS! Don't worry the love drama will begin shortly then the darkness shall fall :3 ANYWAY ENJOY COMMENT REVIEW FAV AND FOLLOW POR FAVOR~_

_Also for you School Days fans, with this chapter I shall now begin to write the 12 chapter in School Days, so expect that to be out sometime this week as well!_


	12. Meeting

_Hello again all! Sorry for the lateness HOPE YOU ENJOY! please review, fav, follow if you feel the need~_

_*OMG SORRY UPDATE! I LIKE TOTALLY FORGOT TO UPDATE THE NAMES IT HAS BEEN CHANGED NOW! RE-READ IF NEEDED*_

**Chapter Twelve: Meeting**

_**Nico**_

The white door swung closed behind me with a silent click, the only thing letting me know it did being the light puff of air that whispered against the back of my neck, ruffling the hair there gently. I just felt so... _angry_._ Rabbioso. _Angry at Luke for abandoning me, _me stessa_, and Angie. Angry at Chiron for taking away the only thing I had to connect myself to her, angry that, that man seemed to know everything about me without my having ever met him. _Proprio arrabbiato._

I slammed my fist against the white wall, an angry growl escaping my throat, the sound resonating through the hall. _La Cagna._ Pain shot through my hand; up my palm, radiating in my knuckles, stabbing at my wrist, throbbing in the fiber of my bones. I relished in it, focused on that pulsing sensation, a sensation that distracted myself from my problems.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself, and leaned my head against the cool surface of the now closed door, feeling it's icy cold touches travel throughout my body. I knew that what I was really feeling wasn't anger. I knew that. I knew I was just hurting; feeling betrayed and lost_; infantile_, all of what I was really trying not to show, what I was trying to hide behind those walls of sarcasm and venom. _Muri costruiti per durare._ The walls I'd put up to keep myself from getting close to anyone, keeping others at a distance, so I wouldn't have to feel like this again.

But of course I failed.

_Ero debole._

It was to be expected.

I couldn't remain strong, I was only human; I craved interaction, praise, love... all of what any other person wanted-_needed_-as much as the next one. Sadie, Victor, even Percy, all of them had wormed there way into my heart against my will, carving out chunks of myself that would only leave gaping holes and deeper scars for my broken psyche to fill. _I fori non ho potuto risolvere. _I didn't know why I let myself go through this, I didn't know why I didn't try harder to avoid others. It wouldn't be difficult, I knew all the routes Reyna's and Chiron's scavengers usually took, yet still I had managed to be found.

I had been devoured fully and completely, constricted into submission, by that one in a million chance that a scavenger might stray off the path-only to then-a few hours later, feel the bite of the brother beast, feel its sharp fangs pierce the tender flesh of my waist, injecting me with its venom, dragging me down,_ in un inferno, _into Tartarus, down to meet that fateful moment that only one in a billion people get to ever experience; that moment I met a pair of soloist.

Both occurances would happen only rarely, once a year maybe, happened to me back to back, within hours of one another, and... I didn't push them away. _È stato un errore. _I let them in. _Non avrebbe dovuto essere debole. _I could've left Percy to die, that was his fate, that's what's the fate of anyone who goes outside of their camp without proper supplies, who cares about what they might have intended, their excuse, there's no point in having one when you're dead. It means nothing. God won't listen.

But I didn't do that. I saved him. I let him live.

I pushed off the door and began to walk down the hall, my pale hands stuck in the pocket of my worn jacket. I didn't want to think about what saving him implied, what letting myself be hugged by Sadie meant, or letting Victor ruffle my hair. I didn't want to think about the fact that, that probably meant I really didn't want to be alone, that this lifestyle of solitude wasn't what I really wanted. Rather it was a punishment, a curse, another burden, another cross to bear; not a blessing. I sighed and pulled the jacket closer to me, the stubs of my fingers going through the bottom of the pocket, showing the world my beaten nails. Yet another reminder of the sorry state I was in. That I was just a scummy orphan fighting to survive. _Patetico. _Unwanted. I shook my head, clearing it, biting my lip harder to stop the second round of tears I felt threatening to overtake me.

My eyes watered profusely and I felt the first tears fall, running down my face in rivulets. Just what was wrong with myself today? Why couldn't I control my emotions like before? Why couldn't I just lock them away and throw away the key.

A sorry whimper escaped my throat and I was forced to stop, stumbling against the wall as another sob left me. _Oh dio, _I was pathetic, I couldn't even last ten minutes without becoming a sobbing mess. I let the tears fall, there was no point in trying to stop them now, the dam had been broken; I felt hot shame run through me, the embarrassment at seeming so weak even if no one else was looking.

I tightened my grip on myself, trying to disappear, trying to make myself as small as possible. It wasn't okay for me to be like this. It wasn't okay for me to even be here. I was a killer, a monster, a ticking time bomb to destruction and here I was amongst others. What if I hurt them? What if I did to them what I'd done to those Animate? I shivered at the thought. This was why I had left Reyna's camp, I didn't want to hurt them, I didn't want that guilt on my conscious.

If that's how I felt with them, those I barely tolerated because of the prospect of food, imagine how awful I'd feel if I hurt the people I actually _liked. _

_ Vorrei morire._

Tears continued to fall, my cries echoing around me, sorry, wretched sorrow filled cries that screamed for death and forgiveness. I couldn't keep doing this, I had to pull myself together, there was an image I had to maintain, a vision of myself that I cherished, that kept me sane. The one that locked all the feelings away behind a dark and dangerous mask. That was the _"me" _I wanted. That was the me I _was._

I had to get my thoughts under control, I had to or these tears would never stop. I could cry for eternity and it still wouldn't wash the blood of my sins off of my hands, the blood of the many slain by my blade, shot by my bullets. I took a shaky breath and opened my eyes, fixing them on the tattered, worn cuffs of my jacket. It looked so old, so faded, the once black edge now more of a muted gray. It was the same one I'd come with, the one with the bullet holes and tears in the arms and shoulders. It was beat up and dirty but I couldn't bare to part with it. Not of my own free will at least. The thing was broken, just like me, maybe that's why I was so taken by it. Maybe that's the reason I was so attached.

I sighed, the sound of one returning from the edges of insanity, and loosened my knuckle whitening hold on the torn fabric of my jeans, my eyes drawn to the growing holes in the knees, frayed and shoddy; I'd have to get rid of them too. My dark brown gaze raised to the wall across from me, my black hair hanging on the side of my face covering my left eye, my face cold with the streaks of drying tears.

Everything was white, sterile,_ puro_; the facade, the ceiling, the floors, everything. It made me feel like a stain, an unwanted smear, a dirty footprint waiting to be bleached away. It was just another sign that I didn't belong here with these people. Everything about me was in disrepair, tired and dying, breaking and broken, while everything around me shined with unbridled youth.

"You didn't go very far, I'd have thought you'd have gotten lost by now."

I turned to the sound of Luke's voice, jumping to my feet and furiously wiping the tears out of my eyes, though I knew it wouldn't do any good, I was so pale that even the faintest blush could be seen. The rouge of tears would be impossible to hide. I glared. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"It's cool, saves me the trouble of tracking you down." He paused about a yard away from me, the scarred blondes gaze looking unsure, apologetic; afraid. His obvious discomfort brought a smirk to my lips.

"Don't worry, I won't bite," I growled out teasingly, a devilish grin pulling at the corners of my lips, a heated glare aimed at his soul, my face and tone contradicting each other. It was still obvious I didn't want to talk to him though. I could think of a lot of other things I'd rather do to him at the moment, things involving knives and slow, _deep _cuts. My face scrunched in disgust; luckily for him I didn't have my sister's blade anymore.

The blonde held up his hands. "Look, I'm only here cause Chiron asked me to show you around the camp... I'm not going to hurt you." I said nothing, I didn't like how he treated me like a scared child needing reassuring, I wasn't that person anymore, I wasn't a damsel in distress, I didn't need his pity, he didn't deserve to give it, not anymore. Not now. He closed the distance between us stopping a foot away; I had to look up to meet his eyes. "Come on." He said.

I set my jaw, keeping my steely gaze trained on him. "No." I wasn't going to make this easy for him.

Luke shot me a glare of his own. Good, I didn't need him getting attached to me again, like before my world ended. Though maybe I should have let him, it would have been a fitting punishment at the very least. "Nicky, you can't be serious, you're acting like a kid!" His voice came out sounding exasperated.

"No one calls me Nicky anymore, that's a kids nickname," I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

Luke raised a brow. "And you're acting like an adult right now?"

I gaped at him, my mouth opening and closing silently, unable to come up with a response. "Fine!" I huffed in defeat, arms raising in irritation. "Fine, just get it over with." My gaze locked with his shoes. "And let it be known I'm only doing this so I don't get lost later."

"Whatever you say hot shot." He ruffled my hair as he passed.

I smacked his hand away. "Stop that. Stop being friendly."

Luke looked over his shoulder. "You know you're a lot of trouble right?"

I scoffed and began to follow. "And you're a migraine waiting to happen. Oh joy." I deadpanned.

"I see the apocalypse's done nothing for your cynical nature."

"You know it's actually done wonders for me, nothing like a few traumatic, near death experiences to cultivate a budding sardonic disposition."

Luke didn't say anything to that.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

The camp was actually a lot more open than I had initially thought it was, only a small percentage of it was actually indoors, like the kitchen's, infirmary, and dorms (which all rested in one building) everything else was held outside in the close to two acre lands. A cool breeze ruffled my hair as I looked out across what could be described as an oasis in this otherwise dry and dying world.

A cool breeze. I inhaled deeply.

One that didn't burn going down.

That was a miracle in itself.

Looking at the trees, feeling the grass between my toes, hearing the irrigation streams running through the growing crops, just sensing the booming amount of... unbridled... _life, vita, _was almost enough to enchant me into believing that everything about this place was perfect, exquisite, flawless,_ meraviglioso_. I could see why the others were drawn to this utopia, why they wanted to believe in it. I could understand why it happened. I was almost ready to do the same. To call it quits, to just lay it all down here and start again. Almost.

But with perfection comes a price._ Per niente è perfetto. _And with such perfection comes suspicion And with suspicion comes doubt. And from doubt bloom the seeds of hate. Seeing all of this, knowing now that all this time while I was slowly dying, slowly losing my innocence, a place like this, where I could've been protected and safe, existed? It made me wonder why? Why keep it a secret? Why not share it with those around it? There was more than enough room, why hide it if it was as good as Chiron and everyone believed it to be.

I rolled onto my side, staring up at the cloudy sky where bits of sunlight peeked through, warming my skin and feeding the crops. I was feeling antsy, anxious, _perturbato_, this was too good to be true, there was no way in the world I could be expected to fit in here. My every instinct screamed against it, everything said to run, run while I still had the chance. It would be simple, I could overpower Luke so easily, he wouldn't expect it and I'd have a clear shot to freedom.

I sighed, but I couldn't do that. I couldn't leave without my dagger. I couldn't leave without Sadie or Victor, I owed it to them to not just leave, after all they did to help me, after all they're still doing, it's the least I could do.

Luke sat down beside me, sitting cross legged and leaning against the trunk of a tree. "Amazing isn't it?"

I grunted in response, shifting away from him, yanking a blade of grass from the moist earth, playing with it between my fingers. It was just so green, _così vibrante_, I hadn't seen anything with this much color since I was twelve.

"Are you going to keep ignoring me?"

"Yes."

I heard the blonde sigh and shift his weight into a more comfortable position, his long legs stretching in front of him. It was quiet after that. Almost pleasantly so. It would have been if it wasn't for the fact I was still feeling hurt. Feeling like I'd been slapped in the face after he blatantly betrayed my sisters love.

I realized my hate didn't stem from anything he did to me. In reality the fact that he hadn't made it all the more painful. It was just that... seeing him, not even apologizing to her in her name, _la mia povera sorella_, even if she was dead, to me, and just acting like I was so much more important than she had been. Like she was an afterthought. Something to be forgotten and disregarded. It was just... _wrong_. It didn't help knowing that the thought that she might meet him again had been a force to keep her going. To keep her pushing onward for so long, giving her the strength to shield me, take care of me, and seeing him not care... It just hurt.

I turned my head, my chocolate gaze drawn to the scar, _cicatrice,_ on his face, long and slender, disfiguring what used to be handsome. I stared, pulled in by the deep rivulet, a faded pink, slowly morphing into a deeper hue. I wondered how he got it. The question pulled at my tongue, trying to force itself free of the barrier known as my mouth and mind. It was the first time I had really been able to take a look at it sense I'd met him again and I found the mystery behind it compelling, hypnotic, sinfully seductive.

I opened my mouth.

"It's rude to stare." The scarred youth said without opening his eyes.

I flinched, hand instinctively running to my side where my dagger used to reside. "I'm not staring."

Luke opened an eye and looked at me. "Sure." His gaze traveled higher, the sun was setting, it would be dark soon. "We should go back, it's getting dark." The blonde stood up and offered me a hand, I brushed it aside and wiped the leaves and dirt from my clothes.

"Well come on then." I grumbled, walking back the way we came.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"You going to tell me how you got that?" I asked after awhile. The sun had finished setting, plunging the world into thick darkness. A darkness that can only come from a world with color. A black as deep as onyx.

The boy leading glanced my way. "No. There's nothing to tell."

"Fine."

We entered the main building. "Where do the camp defenders meet?" I asked, I noticed I hadn't seen anything that really looked like a training ground in the tour he gave me.

"It's in a side building a ways out, past the fields, we didn't want it close to anything we needed in case something went wrong. I'll show you in the morning."

I nodded, that made sense.

Voices traveled down the hall, steadily growing louder, and I felt anxiety gnaw at my insides, the light pulling me closer, the darkness beckoning me back. People. So many people, I could hear their guffaws, many low and masculine voices, all joyful and jubilant and I knew that the moment I stepped through those doors all eyes would be on me and the prospect made me feel faint.

"You okay?" Luke squeezed my shoulder.

"Fine," I grunted out after a breath. "Stop that." My voice didn't hold the same hard edge as before; I clenched my fists to stop them from shaking.

We paused in front of the door. "If you say so." Luke slid it open. This was one of the few doors that wasn't automatic, and I was glad that was the case, it gave me a chance to compose myself, to grab hold of the few remaining scraps of the visage I wanted to portray.

I gulped and with a deep breath followed.

All eyes fell on us immediately; I shrank back involuntarily. Too many eyes. Too much attention, I wasn't used to it, I felt myself take a step back. I quickly scanned the room for a familiar face, a familiar gaze, anything to ground myself to this new reality where I wasn't alone.

I breathed a sigh of relief. _Meno male_. Sadie, Victor and Percy were there, sitting at a table in the corner of the room. Percy noticed me first and sent me a reassuring wave and a wink, before turning to get the others attention. My cheeks blazed, _ah il diavolo_, I didn't know what to do with that. People didn't just wink at me. People actually tended to just ignore me entirely out of fear of what I would do to them. I knew the wink didn't mean anything, it was obviously a joke, his attempt at making me more comfortable, but didn't help, it failed. Miserably. _Miseramente._ All it accomplished was making me even more flustered than before. It just seemed so... flirty, so... teenage... so... _normal. _I was not the person who was able to experience _normal._

Two small red headed youths walked up to me, one with a small eye-patch, the other with one green and one blue eye. They probably would've been utterly adorable if it wasn't for their devilish smiles and the fact that they were in a room full of people all just staring at me.

"Is it true you killed a swarm of Animate?" Eye-patch asked.

"Are you really from Reyna's camp?" Blue eye added.

"Do they really eat people over there?"

"How'd you get out?"

"Do you like it here?"

"Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?!"

I was frozen to the spot, everyone wanted an answer, everyone wanted it now; I couldn't give it to them. I licked my lips, everything felt so dry and clammy, and I couldn't get enough air. I instinctively backed into Luke's shadow, ever so slightly. Just like old times. Even if I wanted to deny it, old habits die hard, and a time of crisis was no time to be fickle, I was floundering, drowning, grabbing at the first familiar thing I could reach.

What better than Luke?

I felt his worried gaze fall one me, I felt the anticipation, everyone was so impatient. I looked into those small eyes, so expectant, so curious, I couldn't take it, my vision was swimming, I had to get away, away before it was too late. Before I did something I would regret.

"Um...I...er," I stammered, backing towards the door. "I need to go to the bathroom. Bye."

It was rushed and awkward, the most see through lie I could've given, but I didn't care, I just needed escape, release from the constricting confines of the crowd. I closed the door behind me. My hands were shaking, I felt like I was choking, my skin two shades lighter than it should have been. _Oh dio_, I couldn't be expected to re-assimilate back into society so quickly, not after so much time alone.

My head rested against the metal door for a moment, my hand hanging onto the the knob like a lifeline, the cold a stab of mental clarity. I had to move, I had to distract myself, I could see the end in sight. This path of thought would just spiral forever, dragging me into darkness and repetition It wouldn't help. It wouldn't bring me any closer to my goal of escape. To escape I had to remain sane, coherent, _ovvio,_ no matter what. I didn't have time to afford those shadows hanging in the back of my mind, constantly waiting for a chance to pounce, a moment of weakness that I'd allow.

I made my way down the hall, I didn't know how many minutes passed but that didn't matter, the sky was black, the sun was gone, I was feeling tired, drained. Too much in too little time. I was still recovering from the effects of using the Virus on the Animate. And to be swamped with an ill hearted re-union, the lose of one of my most prized possessions and forced introductions... I couldn't take it. All I wanted to do was sleep. Take a nap. I didn't want to do anything else.

My eyes felt heavy, my legs like lead, my body leaned against the wall for support, all the energy drained from my body, sapped away by some mental leech. My feet dragged against the white floor, I didn't know where I was going, where I was supposed to sleep, but those thoughts strangely didn't seem important at the moment. Just the thought of escaping into its warm comforting embrace, was enough to override all other reason.

I rounded the corner, crossing the invisible line into the dorming section. Luke told me some of these rooms were empty, but I didn't have time to be considerate, or to play hide and go empty bed, I wanted sleep and I wanted it now. I paused in front of the front door, my hand reaching out push it open when...

"Hey! Kid, Nico, what are you doin'?" I turned, looking into the face of Percy, he didn't look angry, he looked... amused, and handsome. A warning light went off in my head.

My brow scrunched in confusion. "Going to sleep." I mumbled, teetering slightly on my feet. "Whoa."

Percy quickly closed the distance between us, and propped me up against his body. I sank into him, feeding off his warmth eagerly. Something in the back of my head was screaming to stop, that I really shouldn't be letting myself feel, anything at the moment, but at the moment I couldn't figure out why.

"Dude, you look drunk." I felt the vibration of his voice through his chest. "I'd ask if you'd gotten into my booze, but I know that's impossible." He laughed nervously. I personally didn't see what was so funny. Actually I didn't really understand what was going on period. It was like moving in slow motion, my brain was always three steps behind.

I looked up at him bleary eyed, he wasn't looking at me, and from my angle I could see the definition of his jaw. "I don't _bere,_" I shook my head. "er... drink."

Percy scoffed. "I'd hate to see what'd happen if you did."

"_Perché?_" My tone was questioning and he must have understood, or at least guessed at the meaning because he gave me a look saying_ really? need I say more?_

I still didn't understand but oh well.

"You know the doors lock."

"Hmm?"

"It's why the door didn't open," He looked down at me with a grin. "what were you gonna do kick it down?"

It took me a moment to process but then I felt heat rush to my face. I probably would have if he hadn't found me. "No." I lied through my teeth, embarrassed.

"Good, I'd hate to have to fix that, and I'm pretty sure Akes would've been pissed."

"That was Luke's room? _Merda,_ I should've done it."

Percy laughed, genuinely, it was a happy sound, I felt myself smiling slightly myself hearing it.

"You'll fit right in with that attitude." We turned a corner and stopped. Percy pulled a swipe card from his pocket and slid it in the lock, the door swinging open as he did so. He let me go and I leaned into the door jamb for support.

Percy looked back at me with a sheepish smile. "Well here we are. _Mi casa es tu casa. _Sorry bout the mess."

I shook my head, it was _messy_, but did I care? No. If I still had a room to call my own it would be _way _worse than this I'm sure. Even the little cave cutout I used to sleep in back in the early days wasn't kept totally clean. I just wasn't the type of guy to pick up after himself unless it was just impossible to do anything.

The room was decorated in two ways, you could tell someone besides Percy stayed in here by the posters on the walls and the books on the floor. I saw Percy quickly hiding some magazines under a bed, my eyebrow raised but I didn't ask about it.

"Who else is in here?" I asked.

"Grover, my brother from another mother, as he'd say," He smirked, laughing internally at some joke, probably between them. I must have looked confused because he shook his head and said. "Never mind."

He took a breath. "Well dude, uh, well I sleep here," He said pointing to the bottom bed on the left. "And, uh, Grover sleeps there." Pointing to the one on the right. That one wasn't made up like Percy's I noticed. I looked at the desk next to his bunk bed, it was also very organized where-as Grover's seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it. I smirked. Was Percy secretly some obsessive compulsive kid? It didn't seem like a stereotype that would fit him. I found it amusing. "You can have that desk, and we can figure out closet space in the morning." He looked at me. "Dude, seriously, you look dead on your feet, you need to sleep, like, now."

I walked the rest of the way into the room, and climbed the ladder up to the bed above Percy's. If I wasn't so tired I'd have probably chosen the one above Grover's, but that thought didn't even cross my mind. I just climbed the ladder and plopped onto the bed. I sighed in contentment, it was so soft. I hadn't felt anything so soft in ages. Hard, cracked concrete floors were nothing in comparison. "Planned on it." My voice was soft and sleepy; already I was close to unconscious.

"Night kiddo," Percy said below me, I could feel him smiling.

"_Dormi bene Percy_," I mumbled, before the comforting blanket of sleep dragged me under.

_A/N: Okay sooo here it is chapter 12, sorry that it's late, I think my bro or sis had messed with my computer cause I came back and it was off... and I didn't get a chance to save everything so then I had to re-write it -.- Bleh. Anyway, so here it is. I hope you liked it. PLEASE REVIEW and favorite and whatever. And oh to the guest who was talking about Sadie and Carter. Ha. Well, you know what? I have no Idea what you're talking about, These two most definitely are not the Kanes but Sadie Bloomsworth and Carter Fullmibottom. So there, I'm not changing the fic to crossover. Also I'm uploading this fast at 5am, so I can't put all the Italian in yet but I wanted to get this up for you all so I'm still gonna post it, but dun worry I'll update this later at school lol. Hopefully, so be sure to look back at this at the end of the day if u want to know the Italian. Uhm yeah Chap 12 of school days is about 1/4 done for those who want to know, yes i have started it, you can ask around, some people have the first bit already :p. If you want a teaser of the chapter just gimmee a PM or tell me in the reviews!_


	13. Bothering

_HELLO! ALL! PLEASE READ, REVIEW, FAV AND FOLLOW POR FAVOR! Love to hear you're opinions~_

**Chapter Thirteen: Bothering**

_**Percy**_

You know... I have the most amazing alarm clock. Like really, no one else's can compare to the awesome strength and prowess it possesses It's a beauty, that thing. Brown, sleek, wooden; hard a board. Oh, and can't forget the best part: it's loud, obnoxious, and, oh yeah, packs a good punch too. Yep. That's right. It fucking punches. Like... WHAM! Bop to the face. Smacks ya in the nose like a wooden plank. Total keeper right?

Wait. I opened my eyes. The hell? The bitch was a wooden plank. It's not, a fucking alarm clock. I looked around the room bleary eyed, feeling my throbbing nose gently. The stupid thing was still ringing. I glared down at it. Bitch. The ass clock was the instigator, the trickster that had to fucking bleep on maximum volume next to my ear. My face scrunched in confusion. What the hell? Who even put that there. I could've sworn I hadn't even set it last night. I was totally T.P'ing the room of whoever the hell thought this was funny.

I sighed and stretched, still holding my nose gingerly. I wouldn't be surprised if the thing fell off. Well... that's a lie, I would totally freak if it really did fall off. But anyway that's how I woke up! Glorious and epic win for Percy Fraiser. Not. The bed totally pwnd me. Bed one Percy zero. Yay. Insert sarcasm here. But yeah, head to bunk bed, going as fast as a fucking cannonball, so that when it hit it hit hard._ Really _hard. Like _super _hard. Yep, it sucked; hurt like a mohfoh, annnnd, it kinda killed whatever other thoughts were going to be in my head before you know_, stabbing, awful, temporarily blinding _pain shot through my skull!

"Shit." I groaned sitting up and tossing my alarm clock onto my desk spitefully, enjoying the dull thump it made (shit I was turning into a sadist), before glancing up at the bed above me. Empty. Nico was gone. I sighed and looked back at where the alarm clock was sitting on its side. Good riddance. It didn't deserve to live. The thing should die. Be smashed into a bunch of hellish pieces of hell. Yeah. I bit my lip.

"Dammit," growled sitting up and straightening out the alarm clock so it was face up and exactly three inches from the edge of the desk. I couldn't take it, the stupid thing just had to be right where I put it or it would be bugging me all day. God. Fuck my life.

The door swung open and I turned to see Grover standing in the doorway, a strip of bacon hanging from his mouth, a key card in one hand, two plates laying precariously on his other arm.

He looked up. " Oh, vo, duede, vyour up," Grover said through a mouthful of bacon, walking further into the room.

"Dude, you needa chew your food." He set the plates on my desk, which was really the only clean place left in this dump, everywhere else was covered with his junk, (... ha, that sounded... awkward... I probably should get him to clear off that third desk now that Nico is with us...), and he stuck his tongue out at me. "Ah ew, man, gross, chew dammit, _chew!_"

Grover moved his head into my personal space. "Vou, knoiw vou vike it."

I laughed. "I don't even know what you're saying!"

He grinned and finally swallowed (ha swallowed... junk... oh god, mind is going down fast), plopping down on his bed across from me. I reached over and grabbed one of the plates off my desk, biting into a piece of toast. It was tough, probably kinda stale, and only lightly buttered, pretty bland but hey beggars can't be choosers, we were lucky we even got the bacon today since, you know, the all mighty apocalypse hit, but oh gosh, I'm getting depressing. Time to stop this train before it gets even more emo, I'll leave that Nico, I think he's got the role pretty down pat. You know how much I hate bein' a downer.

Speaking of Nico... I glanced at the bed above me, still empty, I laughed to myself, like he was magically gonna appear. Ha. That wasn't gonna happen, my alarm clock made sure of that. Fucking ass, making me think it was special. I sighed.

"Looking for Nico?"

I nodded absentmindedly, flicking my gaze back down to the boy across from me. "Hmmm, yeah, I still didn't get to thank 'im for the, ya know, whole life saving and shit."

"Ah dude, you needa get on that A.S.A.P, such bad manners man, thought I taught ya better than that."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, the gods of hospitality and chivarly are gonna smite me on the spot."

"Never know dude."

"Yeah... right man," I took a breath, before laying down on my bed, the plate resting on my chest and eating one of the two strips of bacon on it. "Any idea where he is?"

Grover nodded. "Yep, and you won't be able to get to 'im before tonight."

"Huh, why?"

He looked at me like I was the most oblivious person on the planet, which hello, if anyone was gonna be oblvious it would obviously be him. "He's in the Underworld man, Defense Squad remember?"

"Ah shit," I groaned. "Forgot. Fucking sucks." I finished the second piece of bacon.

"Didn't suck before."

"Didn't have a reason to care 'til now."

"Ah the spark of young love, so unreasonable and irrational."

"Wow, you know words with more than one syllable," I said dryly.

"Hey man no need to hate, can't control those hormones man."

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't like him," Grover raised an eyebrow. "Like that you dork, you know what I mean."

"Sure, and you just happened to run out the door after him last night?"

"Hey! I didn't want him to get lost, and dude, he almost kicked down Akes door, don't forget _someone_ had to hide your porn stash."

Grover waved a hand. "You should've let him, and you had your eyes glued on his ass the whole time."

"Did not."

"Uh-huh, and you definitely didn't wink at him either."

I shot up on my elbows. "Shit, you saw that?"

"Dude, I was sitting right across from you, I saw _everything_."

I shrugged and laid back down, playing it cool. "What can I say? I'm a flirt at heart."

"Yeah that was when there was something worth flirting with, don't think I haven't noticed the lack of flirty Percy lately."

I opened and closed my mouth. "Shit."

"Yeah, just admit it man, and stop being a wuss."

"Man, this is getting awkward, how bout a topic change huh?"

"Dude, come on, you can tell me anything. He's a dude, I'm a dude, you're a dude. We're all dudes. We all got the same things, nothing you can tell me I haven't seen already."

"Dude, you sound like a fucking stoner, you know that right." I smirked, oh yes, he just dug himself into a hole. I cleared my throat. "So you have gay porn under there?"

"What?"

"In your porn stash, you've seen it all right?"

"I didn't mean like-"

"Well you know, one dude's gotta take it up the ass right?"

"Uhm, Percy, now would be a really good time to sto-"

"Big throbbing dick just shoved up there, like_ mmph_." I punched the air and grunted mimicking the action with my fist.

Grover looked mortified. "OKAY! That is_ enough! _I get it! Done. _So _done. Not gonna ask you anymore okay? Okay. Done. Yeah."

I laughed and looked over at him. "Remember the bro code man, 'ask not tell not.'"

Grover nodded his ears tinged red, the only way you could tell he was blushing. "Okay. Yeah, definitely not gonna ask about that shit okay? I don't wanna hear about your frisky times together." He paused. "Wait a minute, wasn't the bro code like 'bro's before hoes' or something. Actually never mind don't answer that. Done. Yeah. Totally done." He ran a hand down his face. "So whatcha gonna do now?"

I sighed and shrugged. "Dun know, I'll probably go and see how Carter and Sadie are doin since I don't have to get back to scavenging 'til tomorrow, I'.m apparently still _'recuperating'. _Chiron seems to think I'm gonna keel over any second now."

Grover nodded. "Lucky you, Jason, Leo and I are on Kitchen Duty with Will, Malcolm and the Twins since you're out of commission. Chiron doesn't want us out there without a fourth guy."

"Mmm, makes sense."

"Yeah, well dude, I'm gonna get back to work, gimme that plate."

"'Kay, here, and thanks dude."

"No problemo hombre." Grover crossed over to the door.

"Hey, dude! Do you know who set my alarm on my bed?" I asked.

"Ah yeah, that was me man, had to make sure you got up at some point."

I grabbed the pillow off my bed and chucked it at him. "Dick, I was enjoying my do nothing day. Fucking smacked my face thanks to you."

Grover easily sidestepped, stupid animal like reflexes. He grinned. "What the hell happened man? Is that why you're nose is red?"

I threw a pencil off my desk at him. "Ah shut up ass! It's your fault, just get outta here!"

"That bad huh? Wish I could've seen it."

"Oh god you're a fucking sadist."

"Nah I just suffer from that one human phenomenon where we find humor in thinking omg thank god that wasn't me."

"You mean ?"

"Yeah that one!"

"Just get out."

"Okay, okay grumpy pants, I'm goin, goin gone, turn that frown upside down." Grover offered a wave and the door slid shut behind him.

"Ugh," I groaned and dragged a palm down my face. You know what, fuck finding Carter n' Sadie, I just wanted to fucking sleep. Yeah. That's what I was gonna do, be a lazy ass and just lay here. All. Day. Long.

Yeah. Right. Like things ever worked like that for me.

I sighed and rolled over, my mind was all fired up now. There was no way I was going to get anymore sleep now. I was too awake, too focused, any chance I had at relaxation was lost. Today was going to be hell, I could feel it. I was even more antsy than usual, even sitting still was going to be next to impossible. I groaned and sat up.

Fuck it.

Let's go bother a lovely couple.

I was already dressed (granted it was shit I wore yesterday, and I probably smelled like ass, but you know, whatev, showers are for losers, real men reek) so that wasn't an issue, and I jumped off the bed, pacing quickly to the door and waiting impatiently for it to slide open.

I took a breath. "Yeah, let's do this."

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"You sure you don't need any help?" I asked, knee bouncing incessantly up and down. "Like anything at all, seriously,_ anything_."

Sadie sighed and placed another vial in the cabinet in front of her. "You can help by sitting there quietly, and for the love of god stop that infernal tapping. I can't hear myself think."

I groaned. I was in the infirmary I had woken up in yesterday and Sadie was currently cataloging all the medicine we had, which granted as pretty extensive. Turns out her medical knowledge was actually more extensive than the virtually basic first aid that Will had learned when he was in High School, making her a perfect fit for the medical team, which I might add, has been horribly understaffed. Looks like Chiron picked right again.

"I don't see what you have to think about." I mumbled pushing off the examination table I had been sitting on. "It's just a bunch of bottles." I started pacing around the room.

Sadie rubbed her temples and placed the last vial in with the others. "Percy, are you okay? You seem... jumpy. Maybe you need a relaxer or anxiety reducer perhaps?"

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm fine, just... one of those days."

Sadie raised a brow and shrugged. "If you say so."

"Yeah, yep I do, so I'll leave you to that, I get the feeling I'm getting on your nerves so yeah, bye."

Sadie shot me a sympathetic and grateful smile and I quickly bounded out the door.

"That was uneventful," I mumbled to myself sighing, shoving my hands in my pockets. I really did need to calm down though, I felt like I was going insane here.

I'd already stopped by Carter's and that hadn't ended well. He ended up kicking me out after like five minutes when I tripped over the abundance of wires and ended up breaking the device he was trying to fix. Yeah. The dude had been pissed to say the least. At least Leo wasn't there though, things probably wouldv'e ended up much worse.

Eventually I found myself in the kitchen sitting bored out. Of. My. Mind.

Leo was the first to notice I was there. "Yo dude, watcha doin here?"

"Bored, gimme something to do." I held up my hand, it was shaking slightly, god I felt like I was getting off a caffeine high.

"Yeek, that bad huh?"

"Yep. Carter and Sadie already kicked me out for not being able to stand still."

"I hope you didn't break anything."

I chuckled nervously. "Yep, definitely didn't man. You know me, my since of balance is perfect."

"Sure." He turned to the door and called inside having a conversation with one of the people inside. He waved me over after a moment; I was quick to follow.

"Okay, so we just got some fresh produce from the farmers so we were going to make some sort of stewy thing." He rubbed the back of his head. "I think."

I rolled my eyes. "You have no idea what you're doing do you."

He shook his head. "Nope. Not one man, my talent lies in machines not organic life forms."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why do I get the feeling that applies to people too?"

"Oh, because it does." He grinned. "Anyway, you go talk to those guys, I'm not touching the food, I'll be more likely to make it toxic."

"What the hell have you been doing then?"

"Cleaning, setting up, taking down, shit like that. It's why I was the first one out." He laughed.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the boys in the kitchen, who were standing in front of a pot of... honestly I have no idea what. Whatever it was, was of definite questionable origin.

"Uhm, guys," They turned to me. "The fuck is this?!"

"Stew!" The twins said immediately.

I made a face and sniffed the... liquid? Goo? in there. "Uhm... what the hell did you put in here?"

"Everything!" They exclaimed.

I must have looked freaked out cause Grover clarified. "We pretty much dumped the load the farmers gave us into that pot."

"Okay... so... uhm... why is it... black?" I eyed the pot which was bubbling slightly and looking more and more like that poison apple serum that witch had used in Snow White. "Is that edible? It looks toxic."

"I... I actually don't know."

I sighed. "And Leo was worried he'd make the food toxic." I looked back at the crew in front of me. "So, who's gonna test it?"

They all exchanged glances. "We will!" The twins volunteered almost immediately.

"No!" I grabbed the two gingers before they could reach the pot. "Anyone else? Will?"

He shook his head, the sleepy look that usually plagued his features temporarily replaced with shock. "Uh, uh, I gotta be okay if one of these guys gets a concussion or something."

"We have Sadie now you know."

"Still, what if she needs help."

"She has Chiron."

"Why not Malcolm? The bookworm has an answer for everything."

Malcolm shook his head. "I have answers for the mind, not for the body, I suggest you keep me away from that devils arithmetic if you wish to still to be able to use me."

I sighed. "Jason?"

"Why don't you do it?"

"What?"

"You can't order me around."

"Seriously? Do you always have to be difficult."

"I just don't see why I have to always take orders from you."

Grover held up his hands, standing between us. "Ladies, ladies, let's not fight, I'll test it 'kay?" He walked over and put the ladle in the stew. "Oh whoa, this is thick."

"Uhm Grover... maybe we really shouldn't-"

"Nonsense," He brought the ladle to his lips.

We held our breath as he downed the liquid.

"So?"

Grover smacked his lips. "It's actually not that bad."

"You don't feel like nauseous or anything?"

"No."

"Maybe it'll be a delayed reaction, perhaps we should put him under surveillance," Malcolm suggested.

"Well if he starts like turning white or something... I have a first aid kit with me," Will said sleepily, stifling a yawn.

"Dude if he's puking up his guts I don't think a first aid kit is gonna do shit." Jason said.

"Hey! Watch your language 'round the twins," Leo called from down the hall.

"Okay, so how long are we supposed to watch him anyway? Dinner's in like thirty minutes, kinda don't have time to make something else unless we start now." I interjected.

"Guys, guys, we've wasted like five minutes already, I think if I was gonna be puking up this shit I would've done it by now, don't you?" Grover said clapping his hands.

"True...," We all murmured our agreement.

"So it's settled then. We'll be serving mystery slop for dinner tonight."

And we did.

And let me tell ya, some of the reactions were just hilarious.

Akes looked like a drowning fish. Carter looked like he wanted to slap Jason (which I totally would've been okay with), Sadie looked pleasant and thankful (though when she thought no one was watching it morphed into one of disgust). I was pretty sure she was thinking that she'd have had a better chance on the streets than trying to digest whatever it was that was in that bowl.

Most of the others shared similar disdained expressions and ended up just kinda staring at one another, not really sure if it was okay to eat or not.

"Oh for the love of god people, it's edible!" Grover shoved a spoonful in his mouth, than another, and another. Sadie looked horrified and Leo was praying fervently. He finished the bowl with a satisfied sigh and looked at the rest of the kids in the hall. "See. I'm alive. Eat dammit!"

So we did.

Though I knew who we were going to kill if we all woke up with hideous stomach cramps.

Yeah that's right. Grover.

He better run if that happens.

_A/N: HELLO ALL HAPPY TUESDAY!_

_Okay so before I continue with the rest of this sorry sob story of an A/N lemmee tell you why this is SO FUCKING LATE I mean soooo very late. As some are aware, from my ranting in PM's... MY SISTER DELETED MY CHAPTER... so yeah I had to re-write ALL. OF. IT. And yeah saturday was just like I'm too angry to write. Sunday was no Time really. And so I just got time yesterday and finished this morning posting now. So yeah sorry. I'm gonna try and get up to chap 15 out this week so wish me luck :3. Anyway yeah So questions! Whatcha think? Did you like this chapter? What was you're fav part in it? Who's you're fav char? Who's your fav P.O.V (Percy or Nico)? And yeah! So yeah... this chapter was kinda just to show a little more of like what goes on in this camp. Next chapter should be the last of the kinda frilly happy setting up the world chapters with Nico in his time in the Underworld. Then we'll start to get into the nitty gritty shiz and expect another tonal shift to something darker. Also Next chapter expect some Perico fluffyness. We now know Percy has a bit of a thing for Nico at least a physical attraction which is pretty mutual on both fronts so now for them to start falling in love! LET THE COURTING BEGIN! So yeah review with answers. Criticism, compliments, stuff I missed in editing (which HA! I totally didn't lol), and ANSWER THEM QUESTIONS!_

_-Archie~_


	14. Moonlight

_HELLO! SORRY ALL FOR BEING SO LATE BUT YEAH BETROTHED TOOK AWHILE! OH YEAH I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR LILITH AT THE END SO YEAH READ THAT WONDERFUL REVIEWER U! SO yeah... review, fav, follow, you know... if the urge hits :3 _

**_PS: PLEASE READ BETROTHED IF YOU HAVENT :O YOUR REVIEWS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED!_**

**Chapter Fourteen: Moonlight**

_**Nico**_

The Dark. _Buio._ That's what sleep was for me. A void, an emptiness, a lack of feeling. Weightless, dreamless, just...

Dark.

It was a time of rest, a time of rejuvenation,_ di rinnovamento_, but not of forgetting. Not really. It was a moment where all else stood still, but I didn't forget, _couldn't _forget, I was just suspended in a moment that didn't truly exist. A time in between reality and dream, a time between worlds, one I willingly embraced.

It was like a drug, a strong drink, able to lull me into a false sense of security, of blissful unawareness, but like all drugs the euphoria ends. It can't last. And I'm left behind, stark cold and naked, _indisposto_, imprisoned by chains of my own creation, heavy metal bangles that only grow heavier with each passing day.

I wasn't a heavy sleeper, the lack of dreams made sure of that, sleep was only used to recharge my internal batteries, a perfunctory action I only divulged time to because it was necessary. Because I couldn't resist its pull.

The pull of the Dark. _L'attrazione del buio._

But the Dark didn't want to keep me. No, I wasn't even worthy of that small comfort; I was tossed aside, _inutile_, within mere hours, thrust back into the hellish realm of reality more nightmare than paradise, with only my pain around to tell me it was real.

A tap on my shoulder, feather light, gentle, but enough to wake me, to knock on the door of the Dark, to call me back,_ alla realtà_, the Dark more than willing to thrust me into their arms. My hands snaked upward, my body reacting before my mind, learned reflex taking the initiative, latching onto flesh, taking hold, squeezing tightly. A choked gasp; I felt panic rise beneath my fingers, a quickening of a pulse, strong sweaty palms around my wrists, nails biting deeply, pain blossoming at the touch. I imagined red petals falling from those marks, a crimson stream of rose.

"N-N-Nicky!" My mind finally caught up with my body and I opened my eyes, bleary dark shapes coming into view. I panicked for a moment, and my hold grew tighter.

"Nicky!" I turned to the sound of the strangled voice, the voice I recognized as Luke's. The events from the day before began to reconnect in my mind and I quickly let go of his neck, startled, expression fearful. I was in a room, Percy's room, my room, in Chiron's camp, and Luke was here...

Why was he here? It was still dark out, or at least I assumed so since all the lights were still out.

I turned away from him and sat up in my bed. "Sorry, reflex," I mumbled.

Luke rubbed his neck and took a tentative breath. "It's fine," His voice was a little raspy, and that made me feel bad but old habits died hard. That move had saved me more than once.

Silence fell between us, my gaze focused on the wall in front of me. "Why are you here?" I finally asked.

"It's time to start training. We start at dawn."

I groaned and fell back against my pillow, my hair framing my face like a black halo. "Fine. Give me a moment. I'll be outside in five."

Luke nodded and climbed down the ladder and out the sliding door, leaving me in blissful silence.

I sighed and ran a hand down my face, closing my eyes again for just a moment, just... _being. Esistente_. It had been such a long time since I'd felt like this. This... peaceful. Able to _be_ without the constant buzzing shadow of death invading my thoughts, my mind, my actions, a consistent warning, a feeling of danger, a red flag in my face; draining me daily, more than a just a superficial weight on my shoulder.

It was a fog, one that obscured my vision and muddied my thoughts. It was a feeling I relished in, one that didn't make me feel like something from the outside was going to kill me in every passing moment, not safe per-se, no, safe didn't exist anymore, just... content. _Sicuro._ I knew Chiron wouldn't try killing me, not now when he could've done it while I was unconscious and played it of as some unfortunate accident; while I still didn't trust him; while I still sensed an underscore of danger in every look that white haired man gave me, I knew he was too smart to try and get me killed. No, that was too direct, too open, too obvious. He wanted me for something else, for some other reason, _alive_, that much I was sure of, but _what _that purpose was I had yet to find out.

Luke knocked. "You almost done?" He called.

I made a face, my time was up. "Yeah," I called back, getting out of bed and climbing down the ladder. "Just gotta find my shoes." I grumbled, rubbing my eyes, regretting that decision almost immediately; I was gross and the dirt stung my eyes.

I ran a hand through my hair and grimaced at the greasy feel it left on my hands. What I wouldn't give for a shower and some clean clothes; my body was disgusting, grimy, and gross. _Come un maiale._ I felt like the physical manifestion of trash, but ten times worse.

Sighing, I found my shoes by the foot of the bed and slipped them on, wiggling my toes through the soles with a sigh; just another thing to remind myself of how destitute I was. Shrugging on my jacket I stepped over the mess in the room, moving as silently as possible to the door and slipping outside.

Luke raised a brow, giving me an appraising look but said nothing, he didn't need to, I could read him like a book.

"I didn't have anything to change into," I mumbled, fighting back a puerile pout I felt waiting to pounce.

Luke nodded and scrunched his nose. "Looks like you could use a shower too." I nodded back, still not meeting his gaze. He sighed. "Follow me, I'll show you were they are."

Luke turned and began walking down the hall, my steps a faint echo of his, the lights dimmed to accomadate the fact that everyone else was asleep, our shoes squeaking quietly on the linoleum floor. I stared up at the blonde in front of me, an unexpected wave of nostalgia slithering its way through me as we walked. He didn't talk to me and I didn't talk to him, we just walked, follower and leader, _esperto inesperto_, myself trailing behind him just like I would when I was twelve, when I'd been too scared to fight my own battles.

As much as I hated to admit it, I realized I was still that same kid, that same scared, _spaventato_, child that would run crying to Luke, begging him to make it all better. Part of me wanted to forgive him, to admit that _maybe_ I had over reacted, that _maybe_ he had a justifiable reason for everything that had happened in our time apart, a reason for never finding us even if we were in the same city, that _maybe_ I should be the bigger man and fall back into the routine that had been established so long ago, one that would probably be equal parts beneficial to us both.

But almost as soon as the thought crossed my mind I threw it aside, dumping into that dark part of my mind where all my guilts and regrets rested, the place where the things I couldn't handle lay, waiting to build, to fester, to overwhelm me. _Tartaro_. I knew that when that happened, when that time came, the virus would win. Still, despite all the similarities, despite how little I might _think_ I had changed, I _had _changed all the same. And that made all the difference.

Not just physically, but mentally, and emotionally. _Avevo maturato_. I may be walking in Luke's shadow, but I was not by any means any less important than he was; my steps were confident, I was no longer cowering behind him, rather I was in the shadows because I prefered them, by choice I remained there, waiting like an assassin in the night.

I felt a sick laugh bubble within me, _isterico_, one I refused to release knowing just how insane that would look, one bathed in spite and the ironic sting of truth. That's what I was now wasn't it? An assassin That's what the apocalypse had molded me into right? What all the death and destruction, the pain and fear, the insecurities and doubts that had all pressed down on me had created. I had been a lump of coal, dark, tender, easily broken, and the ground pressed on all sides, making me tougher, weening out my weaknesses transforming me into something indestructible something impermeable _ impenetrabile_. Into diamond.

I shook my head free of those thoughts, they were too morbid, too black, _nero_, for me to deal with now, or probably, ever. I shoved them away, another thing to be lost in the ever growing pit of darkness that resided in my mind. We climbed the steps to the second level of the facility, a place, I realized belatedly, that I hadn't had the chance to explore yet. I didn't know what to expect up there, past that dim hallway ascending into forever. To be honest I hadn't even noticed this stairway last night, I guess that was just further proof of how incapacitated I had been.

We reached the top and took a left, passing by other rooms, rooms with closed doors, rooms filled with books and computers, rooms I didn't think could exist anymore, but then again, this camp really shouldn't exist either, yet here it remains. Luke turned a final time and stopped in front of the only door in the hall.

"I'll wait out here," He said, "There should be something for you to wear in there."

I nodded. "Thanks," I mumbled before stepping through the door.

The shower was a blissful release from all the dirt that had baked itself onto me. Caked on, layer after layer; my muscles relaxed, the heat slowly massaging the stiffness of anxiety running down every part of my body like a wave. The hot water burned in the purest way, _accettato_, a way that scorched and killed the things that shouldn't have been on me to begin with, tinging my flesh red, adding a warm flush to my checks, one that I hadn't felt in weeks. I scrubbed furiously, watching as my skin grew lighter, the dirty "tan" that had pasted itself to my flesh fading down the drain in a whirlpool of black.

My hands ran through my hair, pulling at the knots, wincing as my fingers came free, feeling my hair start to curl at the edges, knowing it will stay that way without any gel. Finally I turned off the water, my skin raw and tingling, feeling more awake than I had ten minutes ago and the mellow contentment that came with being clean. I pulled down a white towel and began to dry myself off, walking back to where I'd left my rags, stopping when I realized I had no idea where these extra clothes Luke had mentioned were kept. Assuming he didn't mean for me to be walking around a towel... which... would be awfully rude if he did, there had to be something else in here. But where?

"Hey, Luke," I called, glancing to were I saw his silhouette through the fogged glass, hoisting my towel up some to keep it from sliding down my bony sides. "Where're the extra clothes?"

"In the cabinet to your left," He called back, shadowed head turning slightly as he spoke.

I glanced to my side. "Oh," and swung the door open.

It turns out when Luke said clothes, he actually meant skin tight jump suits that really left nothing for the imagination, honestly the thing was so thin I felt like I was walking naked. _Esposto_. I sighed and grabbed the red rag that I used as a belt, tying it around my waist, before picking up my leather jacket, pulling my arms through its worn arms as I stepped out the room.

Luke gave me a once over, his brow furrowing at... _something_, I didn't know what, the weight of his gaze making me shift uncomfortably and bite my lip, my hand finding its way up to subconsciously pull at a strand of hair, hair, I noticed absentmindedly, I really needed to get cut.

His eyes traveled lower and his frown deepened, my cheeks starting to redden until I realized what he was looking at. _Le mie cicatrici_. My gaze immediately went steely and I zipped the jump suit the rest of the way up, hiding the scars from view. They were something I tried not to think about, something I didn't want to remember, but forever remained, angry red brands on my skin. _Bruciato_.

I pulled my holey jacket closer around me, as if it would erase the memory from Luke's mind, as if I could cover up what had happened, but of course that was wishful thinking. Of course I'd always remember, of course when I turned around I'd see Luke's questioning gaze, the gaze I felt searing into my back. He wanted to the story, well he couldn't have it. He had no right to ask me about my own when he wouldn't dare speak of his.

I clutched the aged leather in my fists as I hurried down the stairs, the older blondes footsteps loud echoes of mine. I didn't want to remember, I didn't want to go back, but I felt it coming, surging to the surface like a hurricane, waiting to tinge my vision red. Red like the fire that had burned me. _Mi ha rovinato._

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

_ Nico lay on the ground, his body immobile. Everything hurt, every fiber of his being, inside and out, the fire had engulfed him, charred him to a barely human husk. I wanted to cry, but his tear ducts had been destroyed, he wanted to scream, but he could make no sound. Nothing but the ragged wheezing that whistled through his torn windpipes, carrying smoke filled air into his barely functioning lungs._

_ It was a wonder he was even still alive, he didn't understand it, the world probably didn't understand it, though right now he didn't care. He didn't want to be some miracle child, the boy who'd survived being burned alive, it just hurt so much. So, so , so, much. Why couldn't he have died? Why wasn't he dead? Was this really how he was meant to spend his last moments? Wheezing through a lip less mouth, trying to move when everything in him screamed stop._

_ He knew this shouldn't be possible, he knew he shouldn't even be able to make a single coherent thought, yet here he was, laying in the dirt, the screams of others as pyres of flame shot through the sky nothing more than a dull echo of what it had been before. He felt something red hot in his hands, something that was external. For a moment the young boy panicked, was another flame about to come and swallow him whole? He realized in that moment how much he really did want to live, even if it was as a charred husk of a human who would never be able to truly function again. The prospect of death scared him._

_ But then just as soon as the panic came, it left as he realized what that burn came from. His dagger, the dagger his sister gave him. He forced his fingers closed, he forced them to bend, to clutch the dagger closer. He didn't care if it warped his skin, he didn't care if his fingers would break, he didn't care about any of that, he was already deformed, what was another irregularity in the long run?_

_ His hand finally closed around it and a rush of air left his lips, what could have been interpreted as a sigh, as the pain faded back to that almost unbearable burn. Bia. He gulped and felt his eyes want to water but unable to do so. She'd done this to him, but... why?_

_ Footsteps approached and Nico painfully tilted his head to the side, the figures were blurry, but he recognized the shape of his sister._

_ "Bia," He tried to croak, but nothing but a hiss of air came out._

_ His sister knelt beside him now, placing a smooth hand over his charred face, he felt flakes breaking off under the gentle touch. He could make her out more clearly now that she was in front of him, but it was as if a film were over his eyes, making everything slightly darker than before._

_ "Oh, my poor little Nicky," She purred soothingly in his ear, her touch remaining the gentle caress of a mother. "Did my fire hurt you?"_

_ Nico tried to nod but his sister stopped him. "Shh, don't you fret, Bia'll make it all better, isn't that right Hera?"_

_ Hera? Nico moved his eyes slightly to see the second figure, someone tall, and definitely female. _

_ The lady called Hera moved closer, filling up the whole of his vision. "Yes, I can make it all better," she took something from her pocket and waved it in his face. "Just a prick and it will all disappear. All of the pain and suffering, nothing but blissful silence." Her voice was strangely accented in a way he never heard before. It was strangely hypnotic._

_ "Who are you?" He wanted to ask, but just like before his chords wouldn't work. He felt like he was trying to sing a high note without warming up. Like he knew he could hit it, but no sound would come out, nothing but an infuriating puff of air._

_ The lady moved in closer and he felt something sharp prick his arm. "Do you want to live?" She whispered._

_ Nico nodded his head, that motion sending waves of agony through him._

_ "Good," He could hear her smile in her voice, and the sharp stabbing sensation in his arm grew, she was injecting him with something he realized, he could feel it moving through him, scorching through his veins. Nico gagged and his back arched off the ground. His head was pounding and his heart pumped erratically._

_ "Hold him still," Hera commanded and he felt his sisters arms wrap around his legs with a firmness he'd never felt before._

_ The young Italian gasped and clawed at the ground, a throaty cry gurgling through him, it felt like fire was burning his insides. He felt his organs shifting, knitting themselves back together, changing into something better, more functional than before. _

_ He screamed._

_ "It hurts!" He cried, thrashing in their grip, he wanted to throw them off, he wanted to claw out his innards and splay them to the world. "Get it out of me!" _

_ He screamed and thrashed and whimpered, hot tears streaming down his face, his body healing itself, melding itself back together. _

_ Hera tssked, and Nico shut his eyes, his body, begging, screaming for release, for death, for the end to come. Everything in him burned worse than ever before. In. Out. The world spun, and Hera's voice came from everywhere at once. "I'm sorry, Nico, it's too late now. You've been chosen, chosen as the third, as Thanatos, to be one of the twelve to create a new and glorious race, the Pantheoneans."_

_ A strange itching began to cover his body, as skin began to regrow all over him, spreading across his legs, his chest, his arms; the flaky charred flesh being replaced with pale ivory tissue, raw and pink at the touch._

_ "W-what are you, t-talking about," He gasped, chest heaving. He could feel new power racing throughout his pores, his form seemed to hum with it, vibrate at a faster rate. The dagger fell out of his hand with a painful rip._

_ "Ah, the transformation's almost complete." Bia said oh so helpfully._

_ Hera touched his chest, a frown crossing her lips. "Why did he stop healing? Why is he still scarred." Hera trailed a nail down his newly made skin and goosebumps raised at the touch. He just realized how cold it was, feeling was beginning to return to him. Her head suddenly whipped up and she grabbed his face. "Open your eyes."_

_ Nico lay there, immobile for a moment as the pain ebbed away, Hera slapped his cheek. "Open your eyes." She repeated._

_ Nico raised a hand to his cheek and tentatively obeyed. Bia gasped. "They aren't burning! They're the same! What's wrong? Did the virus not take?"_

_ Hera frowned and stroked the scars on his chest her fingers tapping against the flesh in thought before her eyes were drawn to the dagger inches from his hand. Her eyes widened. "Of course," She picked the weapon up delicately and turned it around in her fingers. She made a face when she saw the warped hilt. Bianca's fire worked too well, it liquefied the Adamantium in the blade and let some of it slip through the Dolore boy's flesh._

_ "Of course what?" Bianca asked_

_ Hera whirled on her. "You made this dagger with Adamantium, you know that's our weakness." She hissed pointing the blade dangerously at her. "Some of it's gotten inside of him nullifying the full effects, it's why he hasn't fully turned."_

_ The hands on his wrists loosened and he managed to raise himself slightly off the ground, just now realizing he was naked. Under normal circumstances he would've felt embarrassed, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. Something felt terribly wrong here..._

_ The young Dolore looked into their eyes, and inhaled sharply. Their eyes... his sister's... they had... changed. Changed to some sort of molten color, constantly shifting, red's and yellow's and orange's and whites all moving lazily around a pupil. It was as frightening as it was hypnotic and he found himself unable to look away._

_ "Burning," He whispered. He know understood what his sister had been talking about, her eyes looked like they were burning, smoldering like a fire about to ignite. He pushed himself to his feet. "Who are you?" He asked, his gaze locked on the person that looked like his sister. "You're not Bianca." His voice quivered slightly and he took a step back._

_ Hera grimaced, muttering what was probably a curse in a foreign language before stepping forward. "She is still Bianca," She coaxed, beckoning him forward like he was a scared animal. "Nothing but her eyes has changed."_

_ Nico took another step back glancing back at Bia, her smile animalistic, the way she held her body languid and tense. That wasn't Bia, not the one he loved. "You mean besides the need to burn everything that moves." He shot back icily._

_ Hera's expression hardened. "It doesn't matter, you're one of us now, you belong with us, once the Adamantium is out of your system-"_

_ The Italian shook his head. "No, I don't want it out of my system if it's keeping me sane." His eyes fell on the dagger in the ladies hand. "Give that back."_

_ "No."_

_ Nico scowled. "Give it back, or I'll... I'll..."_

_ "You'll what little boy?"_

_ Nico's scowl deepened and he felt something lurch inside of him, like a physical tether pulling in his stomach. "I'm. Not. Little!"_

_ He thrust his hand forward and Hera jerked, his body stiffening as if coils were being slid around her. Nico raised his hand and Hera straightened, her teeth gritting, her eyes literally blazing fury._

_ "Release me at once!" Hera commanded._

_ Nico smirked, a dark shadow of the one he would later become master of. "I don't think you're in a position to be making demands." He curled his fist tighter and Hera let out an aching breath. "Now then... Give. Me. My. Danger." He punctuated each word with a pull, slowly making her come forward. "Drop it, " He said, and she did. Nico bent down and picked it up, a hysterical laugh bubbling inside of him. He felt invincible able to do anything he wanted and he flicked his wrist to the side. _

_ Hera went flying through the air with a cry and Bianca stared at him shell shocked, before breaking out into a wide psychotic grin. She clapped her hands as she approached. "I knew you'd be perfect for this, little brother" She said casually making her way over. _

_ Nico quickly composed himself and held the dagger out in front of him. "S-stay away!" The power high was leaving him, and now he was just a scared twelve year old who wanted his sister back. "You're not my sister."_

_ Bianca stopped, and spread her arms wide. "Can you really say that Nicky?" She smiled again, that slow sickeningly sweet smile. "Do you really believe it?"_

_ Nico took a step back. "Don't come any closer!"_

_ Bianca's face lost the pretext and she snarled at him. "You are coming with us you little bitch! There's nowhere else for you to go, no way for you to fight it! So just give it up now and be a man instead of this whining little shit!"_

_ Nico stood frozen in shock. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard his sister... no... this imposter, say to him. Bia would never speak to him that way. It was only further proof that Bia was gone. His sister was dead._

_ By this time Hera was on her feet and coming closer, Nico gulped and did the only thing he could think to._

_ He ran._

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

"This pipsqueak is supposed to be able to_ help _us?!" Octavian said incredulously, arms flailing wildly as he screeched at Luke, his voice jumping into an ear splitting falsetto, one that jarred me from my thoughts like a slap to the face, while jabbing a slender, _ossuto_, finger in my direction. "He's a stick!" His harsh blue eyes raked down my body. "A short stick!"

I glared back, feigning an air of nonchalance as I looked him over. He was just as skinny as I was if not more so, who was he to judge me? "Your mother ever tell you it's rude to point?" I growled. "Or stare?"

Luke put up a hand. "Now look here Chiron-"

"Shut up!" Octavian snapped, "I don't care what Chiron said, I'm not working with him! It has to be a mistake!"

I yawned and took a step forward. It was really too early to be hearing this. Actually it was just too early to be up period, the sun was just barely coming over the horizon, unless someone was dead, dying, or needing to be killed, I wasn't to be involved. _Vita di Assassin_. "The feeling is mutual Slendy, so shut up and deal with it." My words held venom and condescending, yet for a moment my loose posture and smirk masked it. Octavian' face when the message finally sank in was most definitely worth the delay.

His entire face turned red as the look of shock faded into one of fuming rage. "I. Will. _Not_. Be._ Made a fool of_!"

"You don't need me for that."

It comes as no surprise that the blonde found himself stunned on his back in the next thirty seconds.

Octavian charged me, Luke unable to get between us in time, his body coiling like a cat and springing forward. Open. Unprotected, easily disarmed. I sidestepped at the last moment, raising my knee swiftly to connect with his stomach, the choked gasp that left his lips rewarding in its own right, my elbow coming down on the back of his head a second later, the force bending him slightly. My arm reached for his leg and I grabbed hold of it, muscles coiling, bunching, cording with hidden strength, using his own momentum as I flipped him onto his back, leaving him there stunned and breathless.

"Still think I'm a short stick, _cagna_?" I growled in his ear, hand at his throat, eyes blazing with an almost murderous fervor. I could get rid of him now, I could end all the trouble that I knew he was going to cause me, all I had to do was squeeze and watch that cocky, sly face turn purple. My fingers flexed against his neck, real fear passed across Octavian' face. All I had to do was squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, _squeeze..._

Luke tapped my shoulder and I jerked up, releasing the blonde beneath me with a shaky breath, standing with shivering limbs, adrenaline slowly ebbing from my veins. Octavian took a breath, rubbing his throat and glaring, but not saying anything else. I looked away, biting my lip worriedly as I took in the expressions of the other people set to work in defense. My teammates, colleagues, _collegh_i; the ones that I needed to get along with to survive.

I took in the looks of surprise, maybe slight contempt, grudging acceptance, disdain, and turned away, I couldn't withstand their hate filled stares. I didn't belong here, I didn't need to be here, my place was with the outside, the scavengers and soloists where if anyone needed to get hurt, it was because they had to be. Where the only law was kill or be killed, survival of the fittest. That was the only law I knew.

Luke gently squeezed my shoulder and I brushed it off, the action making me think of my own hands, the hands that barely an hour before had tried to crush his windpipe, that just now tried to get rid of Octavian'. These were hands of a murderer, of a demon,_ un diavolo_, someone barely human. I took step back, then another, slowly distancing myself from the group, adding more ground to the already gigantic canyon that had spread before me.

I knew I shouldn't be turning away, I knew I should apologize, laugh it off, make some sort of witty remark to win some of them over, but the problem was... I _wasn't_ sorry. I _wasn't _funny, or entertaining; I _wasn't_ the type of person who could just win others over. I was the one people feared, respected grudgingly, but never liked. I was the freak, the outcast, the _other_. It was the only thing that hadn't changed in all these years, the one thing that remained constant no matter what.

I was almost to the door, the canyon continued to widen, Luke gave me a sympathetic look, I knew my face was shocked, stuck with an expression of sick horror, disgust with myself, _disgusto con la mia anima_. I had to get out of here, I couldn't stay, Chiron was wrong, if I stayed here I'd end up killing someone.

And I didn't want anymore blood on my hands, I had enough to drown in already.

I reached the door, my hand reached for the knob, Luke called out. "Nicky, wait!"

I ran.

It was the only thing I seemed to be good at.

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

I ran for what felt like hours, steadily distancing myself from that barren valley that held the defenders this place. I knew I'd have to turn around eventually, Chiron still had my dagger, and my gun I realized belatedly. I slowed to jog and punched the tree next to me. "_Dannazione_!" A muttered curse that didn't even begin to describe my anger.

I growled in frustration and brought my knuckle to lip, sucking on the unbroken flesh. It stung, but it didn't bleed. It never would again. A scream left my lips and I flopped onto the ground. I doubted I'd have to worry about being found, Luke's voice had long since faded into nothing. What I could really use was a nap, just a few moments of the Dark,_ Nero_, where I wouldn't have to worry anymore.

I closed my eyes, I felt the sun, _vita del mondo_, against my cheeks, the wind whispering against my face, its fingers light as downy, the grass my pillow, swaying gently in the breeze. It felt like summer here, warm and bright, a total contrast to the constantly changing, tumultuous weather of the outside world. Windy, raining, always dim, color but a vague memory, that's what the reality I wanted to return to had to offer. Pain and suffering. That's the universe I felt comfortable in.

I don't know how long I stayed there, laying in the grass at the edge of the territory, doing nothing, an hour, two, five, three, I didn't know, _non importava,_ I didn't honestly care. All I knew was that when I opened my eyes next the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping. I sighed and pushed myself up on my feet. It was time to head back. It was time to face my demons of the day. By night they shouldn't be nearly as terrifying.

The sun quickly set and I spent half the journey in shadow, that moment where the moon had yet to risen and the sun had set, a thick heaven darkness that only the barest of starlight could penetrate. I walked relying more on feel, on the subtle shifts of ground, the sounds of rustling leaves, the gurgle of a stream, that's what led me back to civilization, that's what got me back to the training grounds.

I paused for a breath at the top of the rise, the building was far less foreboding now that its secrets had been shown to me, the people introduced, the threats revealed to be nothing more than comical cameos. I set my jaw and kept going, soon I'd see the lights of the main complex, soon I'd be in that kitchen and the center of attention, the center of gossip and murmurs. They weren't a large group, news traveled fast in small communities. But it was okay, I wouldn't look at any of them if it wasn't necessary I'd walk in strong, confident, and unafraid; they'd see nothing but what I wanted to show them and I would sit with Percy...

...And Sadie, and Carter, and whoever else it was that usually sat with him. Not just... Percy.

I walked back through the farmyards, full and ripe, crops ready for the harvesting and slipped into the base, silent as a shadow,_ incognito_.

I felt my resolve begin to crumble as I made my way down the hall,_ la sala di sempre, _the hall slowly becoming familiar as I trek back and form across it. It's only been a day sense I'd been here yet I'd already started noticing the flaws, like, the third tile from the left door at the end of the hall had a crack, the white on the walls were two slightly different shades in one spot about halfway down on the right wall, and the light fixture's that held the light bulbs were all the same except for the fifth one which had an extra rosette on the side.

Right. Think about that, don't let anxiety eat through you. Focus on the mundane, the ordinary, the things that held no consequence. The water stain slowly growing larger as water, _acqua_, dripped from the ceiling, the chipped edge at the edge of the corner, the lackluster doors, any and everything to preoccupy my mind. To distract it from the steadily growing sense of impending doom. From the clammy sweat, the racing heartbeat in my chest, going _Thmp! Thmp! Thmp!_

Distractions really were useless.

In the end it all comes crashing down in front of you when you're forced to face it.

And face it I shall.

The cafeteria door felt heavy against my hands as I pushed it open, cold and slippery with my sweat, sweat that marked my fear, _paura_, a fear that fell behind a mask the moment I stepped past the threshold. Eyes looked up, whispers spread like wildfire, dirty looks from all sides, strongest from the other defenders. I couldn't even imagine what the tale had been construed into, I suddenly snapped and went balistik? I cornered Octavian before practice and decided to strangle him? I smirked, did it really matter? Either way some version of the story everyone had heard, and now everyone knew to be afraid of me. All the more reason to get out as fast as I could.

A plastic bowl found its way into my hands and I ladled some of the... stew? Into it, placing an experimental spoonful in my mouth. I shrugged to myself, it honestly wasn't that bad, I'd had worse; I had no right to be picky anyway, it wasn't like I'd grown or cooked the stuff.

Eyes glued themselves to my back, my every move a threat. I turned, grabbing a glass of water, to face those who glared into my back, those unable to speak their minds to my face, unable to stand the ridicule any longer. Daring them to continue._ Egging loro su_. Conversation started up again immediately, everyone else turning as if one body, a crude attempt at covering up their truth. Well... almost everyone, Percy at least was looking at me, he at least didn't seem to hate me... yet.

Though perhaps it would have been best if he did.

I felt myself move automatically over to him, to where Sadie and Carter and Grover and the handful of other characters I'd caught glimpses of the day before sat.

"Hey kid," Carter said gruffly as I sat down, his broad, muscled body taking up most of that benches space. He looked almost comical sitting there, scrunched and uncomfortable; Sadie offered a small but comforting smile, lightly touching my hand in silent acknowledgement of my pain. I doubted she really understood what I was feeling but I smiled back anyway, the gesture was appreciated.

"Hey," I replied dejectedly, forcing another spoonful of stew in my mouth.

Percy spoke next, a wry grin on his face, amicable as always. "Dude, you actually like that stuff?" He poked his spoon into the black depths, pulling it back out and showing off its slightly elastic consistency, a slightly disgusted look crossing his face as he did so.

I paused mid spoonful and closed my mouth before replying, tone playfully thoughtful. "No," I tapped my chin. "it's just more productive than shooting death glares at half the people in the room." I managed a small grin at that.

Percy rolled his eyes, his lips twitching back into a smile. "Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?"

I shrugged, setting my spoon down gently. "Well my last name does mean 'sorrow'"

Percy paused, his green eyes suddenly serious, he felt my mood shift, he was a lot more aware than people gave him credit for. "What is it?" His voice was gentle, his eyes hypnotic. I bit my lip, feeling the word forming on my tongue before I even gave the okay to do so, compelled by the intensity held in his irises. "_Dolore_." I said softly, the word rolling off my tongue like a whisper, light and full of meaning.

"Dolore," Percy's gaze held mine, his inexperienced tongue spewing the name out in a poor imitation of my own pronunciation Still the moment felt charged, intimate, like he held all the power over me in that moment. My pulse raced and my lips went dry, it seemed like his eyes were shifting, tinging a darker green more emerald than jade; I felt lost, like I was drowning. I took a shaky breath and the spell was broken, Percy blinked, and leaned back, I turned away quickly, refusing to meet anyone's gaze, finding a sudden interest in my stew.

Grover cleared his throat, I could see his gaze flitting between the two of us, a knowing smirk on his lips. "Ah the sparks of young lo-," Percy kicked him under the table, the table shaking slightly at the impact, "Ow!" Grover glared at Percy. "Bitch."

"Ass."

"It's a great ass, don't hate on these badonka-donks."

"Dude, you don't have an ass, I have more of one than you and I'm _white_."

Grover narrowed his eyes. "Touche."

I finished the soup with a subtle smile on my face, really nothing more than a slight raise of the right side of my lips and pushed the bowl aside.

"Damn, that was fast," Percy said turning his attention back to me, "Dude, you sure you're human?"

I laughed, I had to, the irony of the statement was just too much, I wasn't really sure I was human still, at least on the inside, but no one else needed to know that. "Yeah, I am."

The blonde at the table, Jason I think his name was, the one who had some sort of rivalry with Percy that I didn't really understand, leaned forward on his side of the bench and snapped his fingers to get my attention. "Hey," I looked over. "Hey so dude, like... why the fuck exactly does everyone on that side of the room hate you? What'cha do?"

Of course. Someone had to ask that question, I didn't really blame him, I'm sure it had been burning on everyone's tongue. "Octavian and I didn't see eye to eye," I replied vaguely.

"Like, let me use my fists eye to eye, or like lets scream and shout eye to eye? I'm kinda guessing fists were involved from the stink eye they're giving." Leo pressed.

I squirmed uncertainty in my seat, now everyone was looking at me, there was no way to pretend otherwise, and I felt myself getting skittish, _spaventoso_, like before. Crowds just put me off, especially interrogative, overly curious crowds. I stood and yawned, picking up my bowl instead of answering. "I'm going to bed, tired," I mumbled hurrying away and dumping my bowl in the wash bin.

I all but ran out the room, still feeling a need to retain some form of dignity, only stopping when I was safely outside and down the hall, away from all of those staring, _fissando_, questioning eyes. Slowing to a normal walk I paused by the staircase I was shown this morning, before deciding to climb back up it. I wasn't tired, not really, I did doze earlier, I think, considering the sudden lapse in time I felt, and I knew I wasn't actually going to be able to go to sleep if I was in my... _Percy's_ room.

Besides someone would be bound to be looking for me and all I wanted at the moment was to be left alone, so I walked up the stairs. The lights were still bright and the shadows cast were minimal, non threatening versions of their nightly counterparts. Everything seemed shorter and smaller now that light fell on it and I didn't know if that made me feel any more comfortable, the light made me feel exposed; I was used to working under the cover of night._ Gli angeli erano più spaventoso di diavoli_.

I didn't know what I was looking for really, just a place that would be hidden away, where no one would expect me to be, where I could blend in and be free. I passed the shower room and kept walking, randomly choosing a door at the end of the hall and peering inside, eyes squinted to better make out what was inside. It was dark and dusty, almost abandoned in appearance, obviously forgotten, the lack of upkeep a tell tale sign that people didn't travel in here often and it was cluttered with random boxes full of things I didn't really care about. At the far side of the room though was another set of steps, this one fragile and rickety, in reality more of a ladder than stairs made of wood, aging and dying from disrepair.

I tentatively crossed the threshold and dashed across the room, rubbing my nose as I went, suppressing a sneeze and climbed up the wooden steps, pausing only a moment to make sure they would hold my weight. They did, so I ascended the rest of the way, forcing open a trap like door on the ceiling and stepping back outside to be met with brisk, cold, air.

For a moment confusion bound me and I looked around at my stark surroundings. A roof. I was on the roof, flat and cement, the ground here slightly more worn than the rest of the building, it being the part that took the brunt of the weather. Walking to the edge I looked across the darkness, awed by what little view the moonlight offered, not at all worried about slipping over it, it wasn't like I'd have any serious repercussions if I did, just some obnoxious questions I'd rather not answer.

Staring out into the night made me wish it was morning, or dawn, or twilight, sure that the view would be even better in the light then in darkness. The thought spiked a need I hadn't thought about in a long time. A need to draw, to paint, to photograph... just... something._ Per creare arte_. My hands ached for a pencil, something I hadn't held since I was thirteen, or even a camera to freeze this moment forever, but of course that wouldn't be happening, so instead I pushed it down, buried it deep just like I did with everything, to hide behind a mask that made me feel protected and strong. Powerful, untouchable.

I turned at the sound of crunching gravel and a voice, my body going rigid, _tesa,_ knowing that in the darkness almost all eyes would just glance over me especially on the roof, all I had to do was not draw any unwanted attention to myself. The voice and footsteps got louder and I shifted my weight slightly to be able to just make out Percy's silhouette walking away from the entrance of the building, and into the night, probably looking for me.

"Hey! Nico! Dude, you out here?!" Percy yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth to amplify his voice. I stood, slowly crouching down, refusing to make a sound, my eyes glued on the man below me. "Hey!" He called again.

A sudden gust of wind whipped my hair across my face and I lost my balance letting out a small yelp as I stumbled backwards, landing on my back with a dull thump, Percy's startled, "What the fuck?" the only other thing in the air.

I groaned and peeked back over the edge. "Nico?" He asked peering up at the roof.

"_Merda_," I mumbled under my before offering a small wave.

"Dude... how the fuck did you get up there?" He called up to me, just enough light falling on his face to reveal his mildly baffled expression, like he was stumped on a particularly difficult math problem. My mouth opened and closed silently, my mind misfiring responses, flipping between, _Go away, go away, go away, go away! _and _he looks really adorable with that expression_... it wasn't an ideal combination.

Percy shook his head and held up his hands telling me to hold on. "Never mind, just... I don't know... stay there, yeah?!" He said pointing to the side of the building and nodding before running to where his finger had gestured.

"O.. kay?" I said, brow scrunching in confusion as he disappeared around the corner. Sighing I sat back down and braced my weight on my arms, leaning back and looking upward, turning when I heard Percy's muffled voice and the rustling of leaves from a nearby tree. Ah. That's what he was doing.

I snickered when his head poked out of the tree, and he grinned back, pulling himself from the leafy tendrils.

"That's a bitch to climb in the dark," He commented as he sat down beside me, brushing splinters of wood from his pants, pointing his thumb in the general direction he came from. "Mind if I butt in?"

"You look like a crazy wild man, cause of the... you know... flannel, and... leaves and-" I took a breath stopping myself from rambling further. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I wasn't normally awkward like this! Like if I said one wrong thing everything would come crashing down and why was I suddenly so nervous? And why was my pulse beating faster? And why could I tell that Percy smelled distinctly of the sea? Crisp and wild. And why did I feel like I suddenly couldn't breath? "Flannel's a good look on you." I mumbled running a hand through my hair, purposely keeping my gaze locked on the stars above me.

Percy laughed and heat rushed to my cheeks and I was glad it was too dark for it to really be noticeable "Thanks," He grinned almost sheepishly and began combing his fingers through his hair, wincing as the bits of sticks yanked at his roots, slowly making his unruly mess into something almost tame.

"You kinda er," I fumbled, reaching over to pluck a leaf out of his hair, black hair waving gently in the night time breeze, "missed a spot."

"Yeah?" He breathed, and I looked up, that ocean scent suddenly so much stronger, dizzingly so, almost overwhelming, now that I was inches from his face.

I gulped. "Yeah," pulling back slowly with shaking hands. "Leaf." As if that explained everything.

My palms were sweaty and suddenly my jacket felt too hot, too confining, I pulled the zipper down slightly, now actually glad that the suit was so thin, the breeze met my skin easily.

Percy groaned and stretched, laying down flat on his back resting his head on his arms and looking up, the strange moment slipping away into a comfortable silence.

A few quiet minutes passed before, the brunette shifted to look up at me. "So, dude, what _are _you doin' up here?"

I glanced down at his expectant face, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of my head, I didn't really want to answer, but after an encouraging nod from Percy said, "Just needed some time alone."

"Mmm," He murmured in agreement as he rolled back on his back. I looked back up at the sky, feeling calmer than I had in awhile, Percy didn't make his presence awkward, he actually seemed to get it, not just talking all the time, he knew to be quiet, to just lay back and... _be,_ _essere_. It made it all that more entertaining to be around him.

"Sorry bout Jason man, he can be pretty a pretty insensitive dude."

I snorted at that. "It's fine, you all wanted to ask anyway."

"Yeah... ," Percy was silent for a moment. "What _did _happen? You said you had a scuffle with that Octavian dude but... ," He trailed off. "Never mind, you don't need to answer that."

I sighed and leaned onto my back, mimicking Percy's pose staying silent, watching as Percy subconsciously began chewing on his thumb nail.

"Octavian... he was... well, a jerk and well," I paused and bit my lip, I didn't even know if Percy had caught on to what I was talking about yet but... "I ended up almost strangling him." I sighed. "And now everyone thinks I'm a crazy wilderbeast or something."

A few seconds passed and I began fidgeting uncomfortably waiting on a reply.

"Seriously?" He asked finally.

I bit my lip. "Yeah."

Percy laughed. "Right on.

I managed a relieved laugh too, and looked up at the sky. "It's so clear." I murmured.

"Yeah, you can see Orion right there," Percy said pointing up, "And the Big Dipper's there."

"Hmmm," I nodded my head, a non verbal okay. I yawned and my eyes began to drift closed, it was just nice up here, calm, a nice breeze, the stars above, the moon shining down giving us light...

I shot bolt upright, heart pounding in my chest. Percy yelped in surprise, sitting up too, eyes round with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"The moon," I whispered pointing up and staring, a sinking feeling in my gut.

"Yeah... ? And?" He scratched his head, still confused.

I let out a breath, it might have been seen as exasperated if not for the fact I looked freaked out. "Why can I see the moon?" I breathed, voice shaking at the end.

I finally figured out why everything felt so bright here, so vibrant and alive, it didn't click before but now questions bloomed in my mind. Questions and with them fear. The whole world was shrouded in cloud, yet here in this valley, this camp, light permeates, the clouds don't touch, ending at the edge of the territory. It led me to wonder... why,_ perché_?

_Perché la luna brillare adesso?_

Why did the moon shine now?

**A/N:**

_So yeah, enjoy! Ah yeah so sorry bout it being so late, just busy, I'll hopefully have chap 15 up today as well :3 I hope you liked it, you know, not much to say lol, awkward cutsey moments lol got more build up fun fun right? _

_aH TO Lilith, who I can't send a message back to since you don't have a FF account? But yeah 1) In terms of Betrothed I have to say THANKS SO MUCH! Your kind words totally motivate me to write lol, I'm glad you liked it so, and yes I did make up the prophecy used in it. I'm glad you felt it fit, that's what I was aiming for. And lol, my violent mind seems to work with everyone else!_

_2) in response to chap 13 review!_

_LEGIT THAT COMMENT Totally gave me motivation to finish this chapter cause god this felt like it took forever lol. I kept looking at it when I felt like screamng lol. Yes, I'm glad that one of the things you like is that it has plot, I cant NOT have slow build more realistic, story, character based stories, so if that's a plus SWEET hopefully you'll like future fics as well :3 (all will prob b AU lol)_

_AND SO YEAH TO THE REST OF YOU! TO MAKE IT UP TO YA THIS CHAPTER IS LIKE 2X AS LONG AS USUAL A WOPPING 8K WORDS! NOW FOR THE ITALIAN DICTIONARY!_

_Which I'll post later when I can charge my comp lol_


	15. Olympus

_**A/N**: I KNOW WHAT THE FUCK A/N IN THE BEGINNING? Yeah okay, so this is kinda short, It's not really a chapter perse, but it gives some inkling as to what the villians of this story are doing, which is something that has been lacking in this story. SO NOW WE CAN SEE THAT MOST LIKELY SHIZ WILL GO DOWN! *kinda rushed but i hope it's good enough :3* **REVIEW FAV FOLLOW POR FAVOR~ Oh... and check out Betrothed plz!**! And on a side note, you should be seeing another Perico fic coming out in the next couple days... it's been eating at my insides for too long -.- So yeah enjoy :3!_

**Chapter Fifteen: Olympus**

_**Nemesis**_

Olympus.

The new capitol of the world.

Centally located in the center of what used to be the United States, they ruled from afar, slowly making their mark, widening their hold, sending their Golems out to eliminate the last of the human race.

It was the home of the Pantheoneons, self proclaimed rulers of the Earth, and responsible party for the murder of ninety percent of the human race, all of this accomplished in the span of just a few hours, at the push of a button. One button that for a moment destroyed the Earth's pull, throwing the world into chaos, tree's flying with humans, boulders rocketing in the sky, buildings lifting off into oblivion.

It was brilliant really, how they had managed their take over. They'd made the Earth's old rulers busy creating a non existant peace treaty while their renegades dispersed around the world, finding the people they wanted, needed, to take the next step in human evolution. To change their genetic code, to make them... Pantheoneons.

They watched the world fall apart, letting Gaea make the first move claiming Keith Heyward changing him into Zeus, their new ruler, only then allowing her to take the role of Hera, his counterpart and queen, the ruler in the shadows. How quickly he'd changed, the virus rewriting his mind in the span of a minute, changing the genius who'd created the weapon of human destruction.

There had been others like the girl who became Athena and the Dolore sister, Bianca, who became Nemesis, but that was of little consequence, what mattered now was that they had their Olympus, their sprawling capitol; a realm that was as commanding as they were.

Nemesis approached the throne room, her black high heels tapping on the ground with a resounding thud that echoed off the marble flooring and bounced off the granite walls. She no longer looked at the pictures they displayed, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel on one side, the Mona Lisa strapped across the other, the mistached architecture of many buildings mashed together into this cacophonous structure, one that looked like an art gallery had decided to puke across everything while it was high out of its mind.

At first it was overwhelming, then it was impressive, but now... it was just annoying. Nemesis never understood why Athena had insisted on designing their palace like this, she didn't see the point of art anymore, that was a human thing; weren't they supposed to be better than that?

A squad of golems marched down the other end of the hall, most likely reporting their progress, spewing exaggerated accounts of how they slew twenty men with flamethrowers striking fear in everyone they met. Nemesis scoffed at the thought. How could the other members be so dumb as to believe that? Actually she didn't even see why they sent them out, there was no need to, all they needed to do was wait for their toxic cloud to take care of it.

What did it matter if it took another ten years? Fifty? One hundred? It didn't matter to her. She knew that in the end, they would all die, they couldn't breath, they couldn't grow food, they were stuck on a downward spiral of destruction. She'd much rather sit and watch them grow desperate, animalistic, and destroy themselves, that sounded like a good plan to her. One that sated her need for revenge too.

It wasn't like the deaths would be quick.

Nemesis flicked her hand forward and the doors swung open, the action only leaving a slight residual pull in her head now. A sick smile spread across her lips, she was getting better now, soon she may be able to best Athena; that thought filled her with glee.

"Ah you've arrived Nemesis, it seems this Golem has some exciting news to tell us."

Nemesis looked up, catching Hera's eye, before looking back down at the small mass of rocks that had positioned itself in front of them. "What?" She spat after a moment. Hera raised a hand and motioned for the Golem to speak.

"Ah!" The bundle of rocks scurried over to Nemesis, bowing at her feet, it's scarily smooth form only barely reminiscent of a humans, until he heard the slightly irritated "rise" fall from her lips. The Golem, small for its kind, clapped its hands and fidgeted a moment, a tumble of in-coherent words falling from its lips. For a moment she thought it was speaking it's native language, the one that was more pitches and grinding rock than words, but then she reliezed that it was in fact english and the stupid thing was just flustered.

"Out with it already dunce," she snapped instantly stopping the Golem in its fumbling. "What do you need to tell us?"

"Ah, well you see mi'lady," It began, its voice scratchy like rocks being ground togeter, "In my travels, well..."

"Well what?" Nemesis demanded.

The Golem flinched and hastily replied. "I have found your brother! The eleventh member of your court!"

Nemesis stood frozen for a moment before a devilish smile touched her lips. "Oh?"

The Golem nodded furiously.

"Well... that is good news."


	16. Shielding

_A/N: OMG! HI PEOPLE! SO IT'S BEEN AWHILE SORRY, BUSY WITH FINALS BUT I'M DONE AND HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER! I'M GONNA TRY AND FINISH CHAPTER 17 TODAY TOO (don't be too excited cause it's not a Nico chap like you'd think it's another Nemesis chapter GOTTA BRING IN THE VILLANS!) ANYWAY HOPE YOU LIKE AND** REVIEW**,** FAV**,** FOLLOW**, POR FAVOR AND** PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER TWO FICS BETROTHED AND TELMAH** IF YOU HAVENT!_

**Chapter Sixteen: Shielding **

_**Percy**_

It's kinda sad, but it took me a good minute of staring at the raven haired kid with a kinda dumbfounded _fish-out-of-water_ expression to figure out what the heck the problem was. You know, glance up, fish face. Glance down, fish face. Eyes locked on wide freaked out _not-your-fish-face _face whose eyes are like reverently drawn -no rather _stuck_- to a clear, starry, exceedingly normal and... well black sky. Oh! And of course we can't forget the elephant... on... the... well... roof, that's currently running the show. Clap your hands! Take a bow! Scream and shout 'cause here it comes -the shiny and unassuming as fuck moon!

That you know, was apparently freaking the hell out of Nico.

Now figuring out why the hell Nico was so freaked out by what I assumed was a perfectly normal part of life took another ten seconds of scrunched up thought, since well, you know, I was used to seeing the sun... I was used to seeing the sun and by association, the moon. Like every... day. So figuring out what someone like Nico would find so weird about something _I_ thought nothing about was decidedly a bit on the elusive side.

Then again considering he had kinda just straight up asked why he could see the moon maybe I was just plain dense. I honestly wouldn't put me past it.

You know that saying about not seeing what was smack in your face? Or right in front of you, or whatever the heck it was? Well it was proven more than true at this moment. I mean seriously that was the problem. The moon. It was shining. And Nico was used to the gray world of the outside. So...

_Oh._

The light-bulb went off in my head and I'm pretty sure it registered on my face. "Oh," I guess he would want to know about that.

"Oh?" Nico shot me a look. "That's all you can say? _Oh?"_

"Dude," I shrugged. "That," I began, pointing at the moon. "Is not a big deal."

"It is."

"Not," I finished.

"Is," he insisted.

"I'll prove it."

He crossed his arms, a disbelieving look on his face. "How?"

I grinned and stood up. "Easy, we go to the Underworld."

He raised a brow looking momentarily confused. "Underworld?"

"It's what we land dwellers call the place you fine soldiers train," I wonder if he caught onto the sarcasm there. Ha. See? Two can play at that game.

"Oh... ," He stood up and smirked a smirk that made you feel like he was letting you in on a secret in that way only he seemed able to pull off. "Guess that makes us Titans huh?" He started walking towards the tree.

I climbed down the tree, wincing when a branch scratched my arm, "what?"

The tree rustled as Nico made his way down. "Tartarus is in the Underworld." He reached the last branch and dropped down to the ground, stumbling slightly, bumping into my side; I reached out a hand to steady him. "Thanks." He righted himself and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "It's their eternal prison, right?" He began walking and I hurried to follow him. "Just thought it would fit." He bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair.

_Crap_, he was closing up again. I flailed. "Oh! Yeah, yeah! It's cool man." I grinned. "Better than calling you defenders."

Nico visibly relaxed, a relieved smile playing at the corners of his lips. "So juvenile, huh."

"Totally," the raven haired boy stretched as he walked, his arms tensing as they raised to the sky, a small groan of satisfaction leaving his lips as his back cracked.

"Wait here, dude," I told him when we reached the front of the building. "I'll grab us a flashlight."

Nico nodded and moved to lean against the wall, a stoic mask replaced on his face. I sighed and walked inside.

It was dark. Not like blind man walking without a cane dark, but dark all the same. Kinda like cave miner dark with those little hanging flashing light things and hard hats that made you painfully aware of how one false move, one wrong hit and everything around you would come tumbling down. Shit, I could never work in those conditions, I'd probably just end up depressed. Besides I'm kinda claustrophobic remember? Anyway, with the lights turned down, it kinda felt like the world was holding its breath; I don't know why, it just did.

It was one of those annoyingly calm moments when you feel like you have to whisper, or you're being a total asshole, even though there's no real fucking reason to, like when you're walking through a forest or something in the early morning. I don't know, it just felt like there was some need for like reverence or something; the dimmed lights and slight ambiance made it feel like a library, or the it might've just been because everyone else was trying to get some beauty sleep and I really didn't want to end up on Akes' bad side. He may seem like a push over when he's awake but get him when he's half asleep and he's a fucking animal.

Seriously.

I don't recommend trying it.

Well maybe Nico could get away with it, but still...

Anyway, I walked down those dim ass halls, trying and failing not to slam into anything, cursing every few seconds when I tripped over some box or slipped on some wet tile. Honestly I had no idea how I even made it through in one piece it just further instated my resolve to never, ever, _ever_ make dumb ass treks after curfew, my sight wasn't _that _good. Maybe I needed glasses or something. Oh god, me with glasses, that image would be so ironic it wouldn't even be funny.

I mentioned how much I hated quiet right? Something along the lines of silence is not fucking golden it's a curse? Well yeah, my opinion on that still remains the same, it's totally creepy, makes you feel like something's about to just jump out at you to like maim you or something. Well fuck, you know you've been stuck in a post apocalyptic world too long when you start thinking maiming is a normal part of life. Shit I'm getting paranoid.

I slipped my key-card in the door and it slid open, with an audibly inaudible click. See? Everything's fucking silent.

Grover looked up when I stepped inside, "you find him?"

"Yeah," I walked over to my desk and opened the bottom drawer.

"Where is he?"

"Outside."

"Oooookay?"

"Aha!" I pulled out two flashlights and turned to face him. "I'm gonna show him the field. He was freaking out earlier."

"Ah, cool man," He waved me off. "Don't get killed down there."

I grinned. "I'll try not to trip over my own feet dude."

"Good, you know you're a fucking clutz."

"And you're a stoner, no need to rub it in man."

"Hey, hey, calm your tits dude, don't needa get mad at the truth."

"Doesn't mean you always have to say it."

Grover grinned. "I am a Vulcan, I can not lie."

I rolled my eyes, "shut up Spock, this isn't Star Trek."

He laughed and tossed a pillow in my direction. "Now get! I needa get stoned and you've got sexy Italian meat waiting for you."

"Dude gross," I dodged the pillow and slipped out the door. "By the way we're even now, so don't try anything tomorrow you dick!"

"Love you too asshole!"

I shook my head, a smirk on my lips, as the door closed behind me, and shoved the flashlights, just two ratty, small LED battery powered sticks, into my pockets. It didn't take me long to retrace my steps, thank god I had a better idea of where the hell I was walking, I don't think I could've handled the whole running into shit again without wanting to punch someone in the head. Yeah... violent streaks, that's me, can't forget all those bitchy immature fights I'd get into back during my oh so wholesome and wonderful middle school experience. You know, the one where I managed to get kicked out of like seven schools in a row. Amazing huh. Pretty impressive record, though not really one to be proud of.

I walked out the building with a sigh, there I go again thinking about all the hell I'd put my mother through when she'd done nothing to deserve it. Of course now she was dead, and well... nothing more could be done about that. The only thing I could do would be to just try my hardest to make up for all of it now, how I know she'd want me to, and that would be to help as many people as I possibly could. So I would.

It was that simple.

Nico looked up, still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, blowing his bangs up out of his face, giving me a slightly critical look. I got the feeling messing with his bangs was some weird subconscious fetish like biting his lip or my nail biting. Okay so maybe a nervous habit would be a better definition for it.

"What?" I asked.

He pushed himself from the wall, smirking slightly as he pushed his bangs fully out of his eyes. "Nothing."

I shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat man," I tossed him one of the flashlights, he turned it over in his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face. I twisted mine on, "come on."

He looked up and nodded, face schooled back into a neutral expression. I wondered if he even realized he was doing it or if it was just beyond a conscious level with him, just like... reflex. One of his ways to look like he's still in control, though whether it was of himself or the situation I had no clue. "Lead the way." I turned with a nod, brandishing my flashlight in front of me, and began walking through the dark.

We walked for a good while, or rather it felt like awhile... I'm pretty sure that just came from the fact that it was pitch black and everything was running on high even with a flashlight on. Feelings. Senses. You know the whole adrenaline thing, not that I'm scared of the dark or anything like that, cause that's just stupid, who'd be afraid of the dark here? Like seriously, they'd have to be a fucking idiot, the only thing that could possibly kill you in here would be your own clutzy ass self- which well, now that I think of it, I am. Hooray!

I glanced behind me, honestly I wouldn't even know the dude was there if not for the fact that when I turned around, viola! He was there... Wow, that was really deep wasn't it. Love being the eloquent master of language that I obviously am. Either way, the guy was super light on his feet, like I don't know how he was managing the whole_, I-step-on-leaves-but-they-don't-go-crunch_, thing but he was. Ninja status man. Obviously this was how he killed people.

_If_ he killed people.

I shivered. That wasn't something that I wanted to think about.

He hadn't right? Did I really wanna know the answer to that? Probably not, but knowing me I'd probably find out anyway, just cause... that's how shit seems to work out for little old me. I guess considering how we met, you know the whole, knife gun stalemate, I shouldn't be surprised if the answer turned out to be yes. Though even if he had it didn't matter right? I mean, it's not like he was a total sociopath. He was just... confused... lost... young... naive and...

Oh yeah probably slightly mentally unstable, but hey, I can't judge, apparently I find that a turn on.

... God I'm fucking weird.

But everybody already knew that.

We walked deeper into the surrounding forest, fauna, shit, in a, you know companionable silence. It wasn't awkward, just quiet, the two of us lost in our own little thoughts, whatever the fuck they were. To be totally honest though, I should've probably been thinking a little less, and looking a little more, cause you know, I get distracted easily enough already, and now when it's dark, and everything looks different and its a fucking forest well... it's easy to make mistakes. Like you know, wrong turn at rock B or you know... running into a tree.

Yeah... probably should've seen that one coming, considering I _did _have a flashlight, but I didn't, and of course that was when I realized I honestly had no fucking idea where we were.

Score for Percy!

I rubbed my nose. "Shit." Nico snorted in a laugh; I glared. "Ha, ha, ha, man, now shoot your light over there will ya?" I gestured to my left, pinching my nose, "it's bleeding huh?"

"A little."

"I'm gonna die, huh?"

Nico rolled his eyes, "not unless you're a hemophiliac, drama king."

I said nothing.

He raised a brow looking slightly alarmed,"Are you?"

I shook my head.

"Oh," He cleared his throat, "me neither." He finished lamely, fiddling with the corner of his bangs before straightening up and forcing on the unreadable expression he wore so often.

"Cool," I said awkwardly, "so... about that light, dude?"

Nico shuffled his feet and adjusted his jacket, cheeks tinging slightly red. "Idontknowhowtoturniton," he mumbled quickly.

My brow scrunched in confusion. "What?"

He sighed and held out the flashlight, a mildly irritated look on his face. "Turn it on," a beat, "please," he added almost as an afterthought.

I sniffed and chuckled. "Dude, seriously?"

He nodded, and I took the flashlight, "all you have to do is twist it," I twisted the top to the left, "see?" The light flickered on.

"Oh... thanks," I held out the light and he took it, all business, "where'd you want me to look?"

"Over there, there should be a cliff... I think... I mean we've been walking like an hour dude."

He raised a brow."You don't know where we are?"

I shrugged, "I didn't know where we were past the first tree to be honest."

Nico rolled his eyes, fighting back a smirk, before doing a mock curtsy, "as you command good sir." He walked away in the direction I pointed to, "I promise not to be long." The black haired tossed me a look over my shoulder, "or get lost."

I shook my head. "Oh man, the sass."

I sat down, pinching my nose and tilted my head back, I was pretty sure I was gonna have raccoon eyes in the morning, yeah... fun., couldn't wait to explain that one.

"It's over there."

I jumped, where the fuck had he come from? "Shit! Dude! Not cool!"

"What?"

"The whole creeping thing! I didn't even hear you!"

"Oh."

"You scared the crap out of me."

"Habit, I guess."

I sighed, "Just a little warning next time 'kay?"

"I'll be a banshee just for you," he rolled his eyes, "are we going?"

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, let's go." I stood and Nico turned back the way he came.

Nico brandished the light in front of him. "What are we looking for?"

"You'll see."

He sighed and kept walking. Eventually the forest thinned out, with ya know, no other like mishaps, (see attack of the killer branch and devious pothole... is that considered a pothole if it's not in a road? or just a hole? I don't know) and we got to the valley that led to the Underworld. We paused at the ridge, it was actually pretty freaky to be here at night but hey, I don't do heights remember? I squinted down into the ridge, the thing really was a pit, if it rained we could have a swimming pool in a couple hours, course it would be like a fifty foot deep pool and that would probably be kinda freaky but yeah, could be nice. Maybe? Kinda? Probably? Shit, I don't know what I'm thinking.

I stepped away from the edge as a wave of vertigo hit and turned to face Nico. "Dude, you see the way down?"

Nico nodded and pointed his flashlight to a spot not too far from us, "there."

I gulped. "Sweet." Shit, I was really starting to regret this, why didn't I think before deciding to walk down a flight of dirt steps with no rails? I wasn't. I was. But not really. More just thinking like any typical dude who's trying to make an impression and listening to my other head that was saying, _yeah, let's impress Nico, yeah, let's show him around, yeah, let's make him think you're super cool. _

Yeah, not happening, I was probably gonna pee my pants if I had to go down there.

Which I was.

So I probably should've brought a diaper.

Maybe a bout of hypnosis would've done the trick.

I sighed, "fuck this, let's go."

The kid didn't say anything, just stood up and gave a small tilt of his head to tell me to follow, which, was a pretty obvious thing to do considering, well, we were going the same way, duh. Not to mention I did have my own flashlight... that I probably should turn on again, cause that would be smart, and obviously I was short a few brain-cells cause now I'm even more awkward than before. I wondered if I looked as awkward and nervous and generally fucked as I felt. Luckily I was smart enough not to say so aloud.

"You're not."

Whiplash, my head turned to him. "What?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "You're not awkward."

Fuck. Guess not.

"Oh."

Swell, there go my people skills, was I always this much of a dork? How'd I ever manage to get a girlfriend in the first place? Probably dumb luck, or maybe Annabeth just saw me as some work in progress to make into some fantastic wonder-boy. Yeek that was a pleasant thought.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and I let out a sigh of relief, cause yeah, I'll admit it, I was pretty much plastered against the ground, and you know how people say _"don't look down!" _Well that never helps, honestly that just makes it worse, and well_ Nico _never said it, but _I_ sure as hell thought it... and about how the fall would kill me, or how maybe it wouldn't but I'd be left a paraplegic cripple with funky arms for the rest of my life. Talk about sexy hunk right?

I stopped a little bit away from the building and I put a hand on Nico's arm to keep him from going further. "Wait," he gave me a confused look, but did as I said. "Turn off you're light, okay?"

He nodded and twisted the top to the left shutting off the light, and I did the same.

"Why did you-,"

"Shh," I put a finger to his lip, "just look, 'kay?"

"Where?" He mumbled.

"There," I pointed up to a spot in the sky directly above the building, front and center.

Nico looked, his brow creasing deeper as he tried to figure out what I was pointing at. "_Per l'amor di dio,_ you're jokes are crap."

"What? You don't see it?"

He gave me a look that said I was totally crazy before turning around, "I'm going to bed. Night."

"Wait!"

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me, "I don't see how air explains anything."

I jogged over to him and cupped his face in my hands, he looked like he was about to protest but I cut him off. "It's not about the obvious thing," I bent down to be level with him and turned his head slightly where I know the moon would hit what I wanted him to see and cast a shadow. I pointed at the shadow. "Sometimes the thing you need is right in front of you." He squinted and looked between me and the shadow, his mind finally catching on.

"Wh- what is that?" He asked, in a breathy whisper. He was really too close I could tell that he had an earthy scent to him, like dirt, it clung to him, it was strangely calming.

I pulled back and cleared my throat. "That my friend, is the reason why you can see the moon." I grinned. "The Chiron's barrier, we call it Hecate, she controls the Mist."

**A/N:**

**Nico's Italian Corner~**

_****__Per l'amor di__ dio: For the love of god_

___Okay! So yeah! THAT'S THAT! Tell me what you think! And again sorry for the long like reprieve I'm sorry about that but I was kinda only able to write this chapter in short little bursts and then I was just tired or lazy or just like fuck it I'm not writing this right now but I didn't wanna give up sooo yeah I FINALLY DID IT! Yeah sorry Still kinda short chapter but the Next Nico should be longer and 17 will probably be pretty short too, EXCITED FOR THE COUNCIL EH? Anyway yeah, so this chapter, no not really filler, more Percy/Nico interaction, more story, more sassy!Nico (love him) and ooooooo lol Percy can be kinda smart when he wants to be huh? Anyone else kinda squee at that little scene at the end loved it lol. Double meaning there? Maybe? Probably. I'm not telling *wink!* Don't we love how Nico can get all childish?_

___ANYWAY ALSO TO THE GUEST!: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ENJOYING THIS STORY! AND WOOT GOGGLE TRANSLATE IS GOOD FOR SOMETHING LOL!_

_AND TO EVERYONE ELSE JUST TO REITERATE __**REVIEW**,** FAV**,** FOLLOW**, POR FAVOR AND** PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER TWO FICS BETROTHED AND TELMAH** IF YOU HAVENT WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ALL OF YOUR OPINIONS!_

___So yeah the workings of teh coming week, expect chapter 2 of TelmaH and hopefully chapter 17 + 18 of this fic. Also I'll be doing a collab fic soon so keep on the look out for that (it's a Lercy fic [le gasp I know total traitor huh? Sorry that pairing's hot too])_


	17. Council

_HNNGGGH! HI ALL! SORRY FOR THE DELAY, GOD THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE UP LIKE A WEEK AGO D; AND IT'S ONLY 1.5K WORDS LOL! Utter fail of a man right here! Anyway HERE IT IS! THE CHAPTER YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR (NOT REALLY) Nemesis and the Pantheoneons... should i spell that Pantheonion? Mayb that would make more sense? Anyway! Villians are now in the picture soooo yeah ENJOY! Nico next chapter**~ PLEASE REVIEW! AND CHECK OUT MY OTHER PERICO FICS MAKES MY HEART GO DOKI DOKI!**_**  
**

**Chapter Seventeen: Council**

_**Nemesis**_

Flames. They burn brightest when darkness is strongest. Flames. They  
burn weakest when light shines lightest. Flames. They are devoured when their ties are severed. When their hold on life is broken. Fire. The vessel of retribution. The mender, the breaker, the sender, the giver, the taker. He who breaths life into darkness. He who takes back what was not meant to be. Volatile. Wild. Untamed. Powerful. A force not to be trifled with. A force that remains for eternity. Fire is life. Life is fire. Fire is and always shall be. Nemesis is Fire and Fire is Nemesis. One and the same, forever bound to the other, forever symbiotic. Ethereal. Eternal.

Fire is Nemesis and as such, Nemesis is Immortal.

The chandelier hung low on the ceiling, the small flames floating in the confines of crystal making the light dance as if possessed. Torches, lined the walls, not the physical kind you can touch, again they were but floating beings of matter, forced to stay motionless to their place. A great fire place lay in the center, a circular expanse of stone with a flame that rocketed into the sky twenty feet high, yet still it did not even reach the toes of the Council whose thrones were higher still. Twelve of them surrounded the pit, twelve chairs yet one still remained empty. One that still filled Nemesis' heart full of roiling rage and hate.

A need for revenge. The force that drove her to claim balance. To make order out of chaos. That prompted an eye for an eye, a life for a life. Death for death, dream for dream, poison for poison. Hate for hate. It was the other energy that made her whole, the thing that was her second half, that tamed the fire in her. No, not tame, channeled, it channeled the power in the right direction. It gave her drive, motive, honor more than the fire itself would grant her.

Her nails tapped impatiently against her throne, an incessant,_ tap - tap - tap_, against the granite facing. Flames danced in her eyes, sparked across her fingers, licked the air around her, a physical manifestation of her disinterest and disquiet. Was it truly necessary to hold a meeting over such a simple affair? What was there to discuss? To debate? It was fairly obvious to her what had to happen, they needed to march out there and drag her brother back, kicking and screaming if they must; make him accept who he was so they could finally move on with their grand plan. The genocide of the Earth, and the revival of the new world. A world where nothing stood in there way.

Nemesis stared across the circle of twelve, her head resting in her other hand, short raven black hair cut in uneven rivulets to frame her face, flaming eyes like molten lava glowering across the room. If there was one thing she hated more than the totally fake equality Zeus and Hera tried to subconsciously impose on everyone else, lies about being equals enforced by their only _slightly_ taller thrones, and equal spacing; it was time wasted. And she deemed any of these "official" (in her opinion meaningless) Council meetings, time very, _very _much wasted. There were so many other things she could be doing right now like... training, and... training. Honestly that was about the only thing she deemed useful so it didn't particularly matter that it was only one thing. She sighed, having to turn her head slightly to easily see every other member in the room.

Her eyes were drawn to the sisters, the _twin_ sisters, Apollo and Artemis, their inverted dresses of silver and gold hanging off each others chocolate toned shoulders in an almost scandalous manner, whilst wavy ebony tresses rolled languidly down to the smalls of their backs. They probably would've been holding hands if they could, but as stated before, each throne had exactly a meter of space between the next, effectively cutting off further contact.

To her right sat Ares, her betrothed, the red and black armor he wore shining with a sinister light that only added to the dangerous aura that surrounded him. The red pulsed and moved sluggishly across its surface, like blood through veins; it sent chills of arousal through her body looking at it, and the handsome face that came with it. She was proud that she had been chosen to be the one to bear his child.

Nemesis broke her gaze away from the deadly man and shifted her attention back to the center of the room, where a heated argument between Hera and Athena was taking place. Zeus wore a scowl and was rubbing his temples while Neptune lounged in the seat to the left of him with a smirk on his lips. He always did enjoy watching the other man squirm.

"It's the logical solution!" Athena snapped at the queen, her wavy blonde hair bouncing with her movements, her stormy gray eyes focused on Hera in an angry yet condescending manner. "Why leave it up to those useless Golems and mindless Animate? This obviously needs an intelligent touch!"

Hera returned the blondes gaze with a steady one of her own, unflinching. "We can not yet reveal our presence to them, it is not yet time."

Nemesis cleared her throat. "Then we don't all need to go," she stated simply.

The others turned their attention to her, the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind as she spoke. Well almost everyone, Hypnos was asleep, her face contorted for an instant in disgust, she didn't even know why that kid had a throne, he never did anything. She took a breath before continuing. "He's only one boy, and not even one who wants to use his powers. He's scared of them, scared of what he'll become, trust me, I know, I have his sister's memories remember?"

The others nodded their heads in agreement. "Then what do you suggest we do," Zeus asked, taking the chance to stop the arguing between his wife and the strategist.

Nemesis looked across the room, catching Athena's eye, she smirked as understanding passed through her eyes. "I think Athena can fill you in."

Zeus turned his attention to the blonde, "well?"

Athena met Nemesis's eyes again for a brief moment. "It's simple really. The two of us will go. Nemesis has the knowledge and I have the skill to get the job done. I'm the one who suggested a more intelligent hand did I not?"

Zeus hummed in agreement. "How would you go about this task?"

Nemesis cut in at that moment. "According to the Golem, Thanatos is now with one of the renegade factions, the one that had been most elusive to us correct?"

Zeus nodded and Athena continued, a small smile beginning to stretch itself across her own face as the plan slowly began to solidify in their minds. "But he also has relations with the other one, the one we already know about with the able bodied lady leader, and she holds no love for them." She took a breath. "So we pit the two against each other, a simple diversion tactic. The two sides will fight and they will destroy each other."

"And it would all be poor little Nico's fault," Nemesis smirked mockingly, "and then... once his will has been broken, once he has nothing but hate and death and guilt. Then, when he's weakest, we come, we make ourselves known."

"He will have been betrayed."

"He will have been heartbroken."

Nemesis' eyes gleamed wickedly in the light. "And in the end, once his pathetic human self has been wiped clean with darkness... he won't resist." The light glinted off her features dangerously. "Thanatos will be ours."

Zeus tapped his fingers against his throne a look of contemplative thought on his face. "He's already unstable correct?"

The Lady of Revenge nodded her head. "All he needs is a push to lose it completely."

Zeus nodded his head. "Do it."

Nemesis stood from her throne as did Athena and they levitated down to the floor. They bowed as their feet touched the ground and when Nemesis looked up something glinted in her eyes, something evil and dark. She cocked her head to the side, a hint of teeth flashing in her smile. "Consider it done."

**A/N:**

**So yeah there you have it! The plan has been set in action, you've met more of the villians, there are still a few more but they'll be introduced a little later (like Hermes and Persephone) and the others mentioned will have bigger parts later. Also lol sooo yeah HUBRIS HAPPY? HYPNOS WAS MENTIONED... not big yet but you know~ We'll get there, gotta get through this arch first!**

**EXPECT JUICY PERICO FLUFF NEXT CHAP!**

**please review you make poor Nico smile! And you know you like his smiles! Also Percy won't kill you :p**

**ANYWAY! ARCHIE OUT!**


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